SCOTS journalist Andrew Marr is in the clear again after being at the centre of a new BBC probe over 'bias' after telling millions of his viewers that those who are not interested in the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh are "wrong".
Over 230 complaints were lodged about the April 18 edition of Mr Marr's Sunday morning show claiming "bias in favour of the Royal Family".
READ MORE: BBC ban on Andrew Marr interview after 'inaccurate' discussion over union dispute
The complaints centre around the Glasgow-born journalist and author's monlogue in which he commented on the level of interest shown in the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.
The BBC has already defended the level of coverage of the Prince Philip's funeral and the suspension of programming that was decided on on the day of his death.
Mr Marr in 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."
But the BBC have shrugged off the bias complaints.
"Andrew Marr’s off the cuff remarks were highlighting the extensive newspaper coverage of the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh and the fact this was an important national occasion watched by millions of people," they said. "His comments were certainly not intended to cause offence but to acknowledge too that some people are not interested in Royal coverage."
After the broadcast, 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 Mr 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."
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.
Mr Marr's 'offending' comment.
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.
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 a series of other tranches of bias complaints about Mr 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 scandal, her government's coronavirus record and the state of education in Scotland.
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