The prospect of a Scottish Six O'Clock News moved closer yesterday as Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, said that he was “open-minded” about introducing a dedicated news bulletin for Scotland, because the corporation is struggling to report the reality of devolution in the United Kingdom.

The suggestion, which would mark an end to unified national news bulletins, comes after the trust released a critical report showing that nearly half of Scottish viewers did not believe that BBC News was relevant to them.

Sir Michael said that the BBC's reporting of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was not adequate, adding that there was “clearly a deficiency that needs to be made up” across BBC News and Current Affairs.

Last year Panorama did not cover devolved issues or policies in any of its 50 programmes.

Forty five per cent of Scottish viewers said that BBC reporting was not relevant to where they lived. The figure dropped to 41 per cent in Ulster, 40 per cent in Wales, and 37 per cent in England.

Publication of the trust's report reawakened the decade old debate about the so-called Scottish Six, which has been a totemic demand among Nationalist politicians. However, Sir Michael said that a dedicated Scottish bulletin would only be a partial solution at best. “It would not solve the problem in Northern Ireland, Wales or England,” he added.

The research by the trust also found that viewers from around the UK wanted to hear more about events in the nations where they did not live, rather than see coverage restricted to improved local news services.

In all 62 per cent of all Britons were “keen to understand politics in all the UK nations”.

Since devolution some BBC journalists have come to believe that it is increasingly difficult to produce a single news bulletin relevant across the whole of Britain.

Nevertheless, despite Sir Michael's willingness to contemplate a change, it is highly unlikely that Mark Thompson, the BBC's Director-General will concede the demand. He will probably be able to resist any pressure from the trust for the moment, as long as the BBC can demonstrate that audiences recognise an improvement in the way devolution is reported.

The Scottish Six remains a highly sensitive subject in the BBC ever since the first demands were headed off a decade ago by a covert alliance of John Birt, the then Director-General, with the New Labour Government.

Resisting the chance to call for a Scottish Six, Blair Jenkins, chairman of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission, set up by Alex Salmond, said: “Audiences in Scotland are concerned that issues affecting the UK are not satisfactorily reported in Scotland and that issues affecting Scotland specifically are not satisfactorily reported to people living in the rest of the UK.”

The commission said that it would consider the review before making its own recommendations in September.

The First Minister said that he was pleased the trust had identified failings in the BBC's output which had long been recognised in Scotland.

Mr Salmond, who favours a Scottish Six bulletin, said: “There's also the metropolitan fascination of the news.

“When things are covered from elsewhere it's usually some sort of quirky story at the end of the news, like the Loch Ness Monster. That is not the way anyone should expect the BBC network to cover things.”

David Cairns, the Scotland Office Minister, said that it was “hugely important” that the BBC reflected the political reality of the modern UK, but that the majority of viewers would reject a Scottish news model in favour of the UK programme.

Making headlines

1997 Devolution White Paper proposes powers over broadcasting be reserved to Westminster rather than devolved

1998 Confirmed in the Scotland Act: “All regulatory responsibilities relating to television and radio broadcasting will be reserved ... the functions and regulation of the BBC will also be a reserved matter”

1998 BBC examines the issue of a Scottish Six and decides that the main news bulletin should continue to be produced from London

2002 John Birt, former Director General, reveals in his autobiography that he struck a deal with Tony Blair to head off a Scottish Six

2003 BBC confirms its decision but agrees that more investment needs to be made in the “regions and nations”

2006 Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, again rules out a Scottish Six

2007 Alex Salmond announces a Broadcasting Commission to examine issue of broadcasting in Scotland

2008 The commission, in an interim report, says that support for a Scottish Six has grown over the past five years

2008 Report on regional broadcasting by Professor Anthony King suggests viewers in Scotland are “poorly informed” on their country's affairs

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