Robinson, you are a biased fraud

Nick Robinson's fitness as a supposedly unbiased political editor of the BBC has come into question many times, not least here. His latest blog entry, on the subject of McGovern's resignation statement is, to me, his most cynical and calculated piece of piece of diversionary propaganda to date.

McGovern, quoted in the guardian, on the reason for his resignation:

In a statement, McGovern, the MP for Dundee West and a former union activist, said that he could not support "what looks to me like partial privatisation of the Royal Mail" and that he was particularly unhappy about the revelation that Mandelson had welcomed an expression of interest from the Dutch firm TNT.

And, under the title "What really beggars belief", here is Nick Robinson's comment:

What really does beggar belief is the idea that Jim McGovern could sit in the department for business as bag carrier for the minister responsible for the Royal Mail, Pat McFadden, and not have known for many weeks that this was precisely what was being planned.

Could his resignation have more to do with the fact that the SNP are targeting his Dundee West constituency? The nationalists already control the council, both Holyrood seats and the neighbouring Westminster seat?

The man resigned on a specific issue, made public in Mandelson's statement yesterday - and Nick Robinson imputes that this is not the case, that he acted for political reasons. On what evidence?. What did Nick Robinson expect him to do? Resign before the decision was announced? Robinson and Peston may be privy to Government decisions before they are made public - but the rest of us aren't so we would hardly have understood the background - or perhaps this is just what Robinson would have wished.

Instead of reporting objectively and incisively on the Political event of the day Robinson has published a story specifically to discredit the man who resigned, almost without comment on the point of principle involved. For a Political editor this shows either an extremely limited understanding of the news agenda or a shameless degree of bias. He did this before on the Daily Politics during the Baby P affair, and I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. No more.

Robinson - in the way that you discharge your duties as an unbiased and competent Political editor you are a total fraud. Sue me - I would love to put your reputation and the history of your reporting at issue in a court and so would many people who are forced on pain of criminal charges to pay for the biased rubbish you and some others produce in the name of news.