Germany’s leading news programme has been slammed for failing to report the rape and murder of the 19-year-old daughter of an EU official by an Afghan ‘refugee’.

The Tagesschau show, produced by ARD, the world’s largest public broadcaster, claimed that the story was “too regional”. Others, however, blame political correctness and an establishment desire to silence criticism of mass migration.

Last week’s revelation that 19-year-old Maria Ladenburger – a medical student, migrant home volunteer, and daughter of a prominent European Union (EU) official – was attacked and killed by a recently-arrived 17-year-old migrant shocked the nation.

Despite having a budget of €6.5 billion (£5.5 billion) and 20,617 employees, the public broadcaster decided not to allocate resources to bringing the story to national attention.

ARD’s editor-in-chief, Kai Gniffke, played down the decision, arguing they “very rarely report on individual criminal cases”.

However, Ansgar Heveling, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat Union (CDU) party and chairman of the Bundestag Interior Committee, suggested the decision was suspicious.

“I think the decision of the Tagesschau is wrong because it naturally gives the impression that you do not want to report because the suspect is an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker. Such an impression is fatal,” he told Frankfurter Allgemeine.

German’s media has been heavily criticised before for allegedly covering up stories showing migrants in a bad light since the migrant crisis began.

Establishment broadcasters only reported the sexual assault, rape, and robbery of more than 1,000 women last New Year’s Eve in Cologne, almost a week late, after Breitbart London and other alternative news sites exposed the story online.

Local media later apologised for failing to report on the attacks. Leaked documents and e-mails showed the police were also under pressure to keep quiet about the migrant attacks.

Tagesschau ran a belated report on the murder of Miss Ladenburger, inviting Chancellor Angela Merkel on to the show, where she insisted the crime must be played down.

“If it turns out that it was an Afghan refugee, then that is absolutely to be condemned, just like with every other killer,” she said.

Adding: “But, it is also to be clearly stated… that this can not be connected to the rejection of a whole group, just as we can not otherwise conclude about other groups.”

The victim’s father, Dr. Clemens Ladenburger, is a lawyer who assists the legal director of the European Commission, and it has been suggested his daughter’s funeral was used to make a political point.

The media has widely reported that Miss Ladenburger was a supporter of mass migration and the ceremony was used to raise money for charities that are working to bring more migrants into Germany.