Portillo: BBC has been "frightened of its own shadow”

The BBC must be "much less apologetic than it has in the past" says Michael Portillo.

The former defence secretary was speaking to Andrew Neil on This Week after the chancellor's complaints about BBC coverage of his Autumn Statement.

Mr Portillo said the BBC had an "extraordinary number of very similar people who come from metropolitan life, who are middle class, who are left-of-centre".

But he said the BBC has allowed itself to be bullied and should stand up for itself, as it has been “so very, very timid and frightened of its own shadow”.