The chair of the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, "must be left in no doubt that there is, among a significant section of opinion in Scotland, a total lack of confidence in the BBC’s ability to cover the referendum impartially", according to journalist-turned-politician, Joan McAlpine.

In her weekly column for The Scotsman today, the SNP MSP and former deputy editor of The Herald writes of a meeting said to be taking place on Thursday between Chris Patten and First Minister, Alex Salmond.

She also claims "...the balance of political opinion in Scotland is not reflected across the BBC, which mirrors the UK as a whole. The coalition parties in particular punch well above their weight in terms of the coverage they get in Scotland, both on the network and opt-out programming."