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Pressure increased on Sky News and the BBC today as both broadcasters stood firm in banning a Gaza charity appeal on the grounds that it would compromise their impartiality.

The advertisement, by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), asks for donations for Palestinians left without homes, food, water or medicine after the 22-day military operation by the Israel Defence Forces.

The BBC Director-General continued to resist pressure to lift the corporation's ban on the screening. Mark Thompson said that he had no intention of changing the policy despite the three other terrestrial television channels, ITV, Channel 4 and Five, pledging to show the appeal.

Sixty MPs have signed an early day motion, 11,000 BBC viewers have lodged complaints and hundreds of protesters have picketed BBC offices to protest against the corporation's stance. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, called on the BBC to change its mind.

This afternoon, Gordon Brown's spokesman restated that the Prime Minister personally supported the appeal – although both he and Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, said that the decision on whether to show it remained with the BBC.

Speaking on the Today programme on Radio 4, Mr Thompson acknowledged the suffering in Gaza but said that he could not allow the BBC to endanger its impartiality by seeming to endorse an appeal for the victims on one side of a complicated conflict.

"Of course, everyone is struck by the human consequences of what has happened," said Mr Thompson. "And I promise that we will continue to report that as fully and compassionately as we can...

"But the appeal is not designed to meet the BBC's standards for news and current affairs. For us to broadcast such a thing would in my view be out of keeping with our strict duty to be impartial."

Mr Thompson said that all the charity appeals screened by the BBC – such as for the victims of alleged genocide by government-backed militias in Darfur, Sudan – were vetted to ensure that they were impartial and uncontentious.

He said that the corporation had turned down other DEC appeals in the past because of its "passion" for impartiality though did not say which. The final decision rested with him as Editor-in-Chief, he said.

He added that for those interested to learn more, the BBC website carried a link to the DEC's website, and that the row over screening the advert had raised the profile of the appeal.

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