BBC Television's Watchdog programme has been lambasted by Ian McAllister, chairman and managing director of Ford Motor Company, after the Broadcasting Standards Commission upheld a formal complaint from Ford. The manufacturer had objected to a series of Watchdog programmes which claimed Ford Mondeos pulled to the left, an objection sustained by the BSC.

The official summary of the BSC report declared: '...the cumulative effect of the programmes was to suggest that there was a design or manufacturing fault affecting all Mondeos. Since the BBC has accepted that there was no evidence of an inherent defect, this suggestion was unfair.'

Reacting to the report, McAllister said: 'Consumer programmes should pursue their causes fairly and objectively without unnecessarily damaging the corporate reputation of major businesses. It is unfortunate that in the face of the continued unfair reporting displayed by BBC Watchdog the only form of redress available to Ford is to turn to the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

'In common with other big companies whose products are subjected to this kind of unfair reporting, I feel it is time for this programme to be placed under close scrutiny by the BBC Board of Governors.'