SCOTS journalist Andrew Marr has been cleared of bias in a BBC probe after telling millions of his viewers that those who are not interested in the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh were "wrong".

Some 234 complaints have been lodged about the April 18 edition of Marr's Sunday morning show claiming "bias in favour of the Royal Family".

The complaints centre around the Glasgow-born journalist and author's monologue in which he commented on the level of interest shown in the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

The BBC had already been forced to defend the level of coverage of Prince Philip's funeral and the suspension of programming that was decided on on the day of his death.

The National:

Marr, opening his politics show, said: "One story really only on all the front pages, and one thought, 'The Queen left alone, Alone in her Grief', says the Sunday People.

"I'm not going to share all this on the front pages, because basically they have the same idea.

"I say to anyone who is not interested in yesterday's funeral, two things.

"First, you're wrong. There's a lot to reflect on and a lot to learn.

"And second, avoid the Sunday papers."

One complainer said: "Ridiculous. No doubt it is big news, but quite a few people are republicans and don't believe we should have a royal family. That is a perfectly legitimate view - what a patronising thing to say."

Another who tweeted Marr said: "Who do you think you are exactly having the right to say people not interested in the royal funeral yesterday are wrong?! It’s not your call to make, it’s family tragedy, of course, but so many have lost their loved ones. We don’t need someone like you judge us."

Now the conclusion of an internal probe has been published which revealed the complaints of bias against Marr were not upheld.

A table of recent inquiry outcomes published last night, said: "The Andrew Marr Show. BBC One 18/04/2021. Bias on royal funeral. Not upheld."

The Duke of Edinburgh was buried beneath St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday, April 17, with 11 million people tuning in to watch the coverage, led by broadcaster Huw Edwards, on the BBC alone.

But having had to open a complaints line about the extent of coverage of Prince Philip's death, the BBC was also hit with complaints over the coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral after dedicating six hours of its schedule to the service.

The BBC received 110,000 complaints about its coverage on the day of the duke's death, after it cleared its schedules and put mirrored coverage on BBC One, BBC Two and its News Channel.

The complaints about the extent of the coverage of the Duke of Edinburgh's death was the highest number ever published in the UK about television programming and made coverage of Philip's death the most complained-about piece of programming in BBC history.

The MasterChef final, The One Show, Have I Got News For You and The Graham Norton Show were all dropped for programming dedicated to the royal instead. The BBC was forced to set up a complaints board solely for backlash against the level of coverage.

BBC Two did not air coverage of the funeral, instead showing the Snooker World Championship.

BBC4 halted live coverage of the France vs England women's football international and diverted viewers to the BBC iPlayer, where it was available. In its place was a caption, and audio and video of fans cheering.

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ITV gave the event three hours' coverage, anchored by Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham and featuring guests including Philip's goddaughter, India Hicks.
Channel 4 showed episodes of reality show Four In A Bed, while Channel 5 aired the film A Knight's Tale, starring Heath Ledger.

The BBC has already dismissed three other tranches of bias complaints about Marr in the past months including over 100 about his interview with Nicola Sturgeon on November 29.

During the November 29 show, the Scots presenter suggested there was a "gap" between reality and her public claims about both the Alex Salmond inquiry, her government's coronavirus record and the state of education in Scotland.

Marr was then accused of presenting an attitude towards the First Minister which some compared to an “attack dog” who was aiming not for a political interview but a “character assassination”.

Responding to complaints made in April about the level of coverage of the Prince's funeral, the BBC said: "The passing of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a significant event which generated a lot of interest both nationally and internationally.

"We acknowledge some viewers were unhappy with the level of coverage given, and impact this had on the billed TV and Radio schedules.

"We do not make such changes without careful consideration and the decisions made reflect the role the BBC plays as the national broadcaster, during moments of national significance.

"We are grateful for all feedback, and we always listen to the response from our audiences."