A NORTH Yorkshire MP has urged the Government to draw a line under its dispute with the BBC over evidence of Iraq's weapons capability - because he believes it is harming its credibility.

Selby MP John Grogan, who chairs the All Parliamentary BBC Group, said that the row was "doing far more harm to the Government than it is to the BBC", and added: "The fact that the BBC is seen to be reasserting its independence from the Government is probably doing it some good."

Mr Grogan's comments were made in the light of yesterday's 54-page all-party Foreign Affairs Select Committee report, which cleared Tony Blair's communications director Alastair Campbell of "sexing up" evidence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

However, the report criticised the weight which the Government placed on these claims in the decision to go to war. Mr Grogan said that it was "unreasonable" to expect the BBC to start climbing down under government pressure in light of the findings of the committee.

He said Mr Campbell should make a formal complaint to either the BBC Board of Governors or the Broadcasting Standards Commission, otherwise the only option would be "to agree to disagree".

"I am pleased that Number 10 seems to be backing down from their charge that the BBC was biased in its coverage of the war. This allegation does not stand up to any serious scrutiny.

"An academic study published on Friday showed that, if anything, the BBC in its coverage was more favourable to the Government's case than other broadcasters were."

Updated: 10:36 Tuesday, July 08, 2003