London - Backbench MPs yesterday challenged ITV's arguments for scrapping News At Ten and accused it of using the fixed bulletin as "a convenient scapegoat" for its declining audiences.
The report of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on the Future of News At Ten branded ITV management as "patronising and offensive" for declaring they wanted a younger, more upmarket news audience.
The committee recommended that the Independent Television Commission should refuse ITV's application to move its main evening bulletin to 6.30 p.m.