The Labour party has accused the BBC of interfering in the political process by failing to adequately cover Tory Islamophobia, amid criticism over its decision to reinstate an MP suspended over remarks about anti-Semitism.



Two letters, sent on Wednesday and Thursday and seen by BuzzFeed News, came as Labour faced a backlash after suspended MP Chris Williamson was readmitted — only to lose the whip again two days later.

Deputy leader Tom Watson was among more than 100 MPs to sign a letter calling on Jeremy Corbyn to act, prompting a flurry of negative stories that highlighted the divisions within the party.



However, Labour claims there has been a “stark contrast” between the BBC’s coverage of anti-Muslim bigotry in the Tory party and its reporting on the anti-Semitism row involving Williamson.



In its first letter, sent on Wednesday — the same day Williamson’s readmission made headlines — Labour complained that the BBC had failed to cover a poll showing that nearly half of Tory members hold anti-Muslim views. The poll found that just 8% of Tory members would be proud of having a Muslim prime minister and that 40% wanted limits on the number of Muslims entering Britain.



The party has also highlighted what it perceives as a discrepancy between BBC correspondents’ tweets on Tory anti-Muslim sentiment and Labour anti-Semitism, and alleged that the broadcaster is failing to hold Boris Johnson, the likely next prime minister, to account for his views.

Labour said it would seek a meeting with BBC bosses to discuss its concerns.

The party wrote: “Your coverage — including immediate commentary on social media by correspondents — of the decision to issue Chris Williamson with a formal sanction stands in stark contrast to your response to the YouGov poll on Monday that revealed almost half of Conservative Party members hold the undeniably racist view that they wouldn’t want a Muslim Prime Minister.”

Labour said it was “troubling and serious” that the Tory anti-Muslim sentiment poll “received no coverage across the BBC — and no commentary from your journalists on social media”. It said it was challenging the decision to not report on the views of the people who will be choosing the next PM.

“The point of this is not to say that we think this development in Chris Williamson’s disciplinary case should not have been covered. It is a matter of public interest, and your immediate reaction — on social media and in broadcast packages — reflects that,” the letter said.

The party also demanded to “know the reasons why Monday’s poll was not deemed as newsworthy; what were the editorial considerations; and what advice if any was issued to journalists about whether to pursue the story”.