The BBC was told today that it could not broadcast The Apprentice during an election after its governing body ruled that Sir Alan Sugar’s appointment as the Government’s enterprise czar risked damaging the corporation’s political impartiality.

The BBC Trust was responding to a complaint by Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary, that Sir Alan, who became Baron Sugar of Clapton on Monday, should not be allowed to juggle the roles of government adviser and BBC presenter.

Although they rejected the complaint, the trustees said that allowing the Labour peer to present The Apprentice, or its spin-off programme, during an election period could lead viewers to think that the corporation was biased in favour of the Labour Party.

In its ruling, the trust’s Editorial Standards Committee said: “There is a risk that broadcasting The Apprentice and/or Junior Apprentice when the next general election is imminent or during the election period for the next general election would be likely to compromise the BBC’s impartiality and/or undermine public confidence in the BBC.

“This is because the role Sir Alan has chosen to take in relation to the present Government could lead the public to view his presence on screen during an election campaign as undue or unfair publicity for the Labour Party.”

Gordon Brown must call a General Election by June 3 next year, which would coincide with the next series of the corporation’s flagship business show.

The trust said that the combination of Lord Sugar’s dual roles and the forthcoming election “poses a greater than normal risk to the impartiality, integrity and independence of the BBC”.

Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the trust, criticised “some failings” by BBC bosses in allowing Lord Sugar to appear with Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, at a National Apprenticeship Service (NSA) event in Gateshead.

The report said: “The committee nevertheless concluded that it regarded this work for the NSA as political activity which should have been formally referred by Sir Alan Sugar to the appropriate editorial figure at the BBC and gained their consent.”

The BBC has always claimed that Lord Sugar’s role will be purely advisory and that he will not formulate policy or act as a cheerleader for the Labour Party.

In previous letters to Mr Hunt, Mark Thompson, the BBC Director-General, said that Lord Sugar had agreed not to make any public appearances in his role as Government adviser while The Apprentice was being screened. He will also not be allowed to campaign for the Labour Party.

The trust said that it did not believe that the BBC “was brought into disrepute at any stage or currently”, but conceded that initial confusion about Lord Sugar’s role caused a situation where public confidence in the BBC may have been undermined.

Mr Hunt said: “The BBC Trust has admitted what we have known all along — that Alan Sugar’s government appointment risks the impartiality, integrity and independence of the BBC.

“Whatever restrictions the BBC seeks to put on his political activities, Lord Sugar is taking the Labour whip and has an official government role. It’s amazing that the trust has therefore not explained why licence fee payers should fund a programme hosted by someone who will help formulate, promote, and endorse government policies.

“The trust has disappointingly missed an opportunity to show it has teeth when it comes to enforcing impartiality obligations.”

A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC has always exercised particular sensitivity in relation to party political fairness in the period leading up to an election. When elections are called or are clearly imminent, we review all of our schedules to ensure that our output is suitable for transmission during that period.

“The trust has emphasised that all scheduling decisions are a matter for the BBC Executive. However, the executive has noted the trust’s clear view on the particular sensitivity of broadcasting The Apprentice during an election period.

“If the next general election falls in the first part of 2010, the executive will of course bear the trust’s view in mind when it considers when to transmit the next series of The Apprentice."

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