Channel 4 News boss Ben de Pear has defended presenter Jon Snow, over claims that he is a "playground bully".

Conservative MP Philip Davies said that Snow "ambushed" him during a tour of the newsroom to talk about Google and the "right to be forgotten" rule.


Davies - a member of the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee - has previously clashed with Snow after he told Channel 4 boss Lord Burns that Snow and his programme promoted a left-wing bias.

When meeting the MP on Tuesday, Snow is thought to have asked for an example of a time he had been biased towards the left.

"I said I had come to look around and hadn't come for an argy-bargy," Davies told The Telegraph.

"He just kept repeating the same thing in a deliberately loud voice. It was like he was the playground bully and the newsroom was his playground. This carried on for at least five minutes. I said I was quite happy to come back at a later date but I hadn't come armed with any examples today.

"It was ludicrous. I said, 'Look, Jon, you're past it'."

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Speaking on Twitter today (October 24), de Pear dismissed any accusations that Snow is a "bully", saying: "Jon Snow's reputation and integrity as a journalist, presenter and interviewer is almost unparalleled in UK broadcasting.

"He's won numerous awards over 25 years at Channel 4 News and throughout has been subject to Ofcom's rigorous regulation, without censure or blemish."

He added: "As his proud editor, he has our full support and long shall Jon Snow's glorious record at Channel 4 News continue."