A Tynwald select committee has rejected a call from the BBC to remove from its report an unsubstantiated claim it reported an election ’result’ ahead of a recount.

But, although the select committee compared the demand with ’censorship’, the MHK who included the accusation in her submission to the committee has apologised to the BBC.

In an unusual move, a supplementary document was added to the report by the Select Committee on the Organisation and Operation of the Election on Tuesday - the same day of the Tynwald sitting at which it was to be debated.

It followed complaints by the BBC about the inclusion in that report, published in April, of a submission from Douglas East MHK Clare Bettison that the result in her constituency was reported by the corporation - before a recount took place.

Last week, almost two months after the report was first published, the BBC wrote to the select committee to deny the ’serious allegation’, which it said cast ’unfair aspersions on our highly professional team’.

The BBC demanded that the evidence be redacted from the select committee report.

Laura Ellis, head of online, BBC English Regions, added in a letter to the government: ’We have also spoken to the source of the allegation and she confirms that she has no evidence for what has been described.’

But the committee refused to redact the evidence, stating: ’We are not prepared to redact evidence which we have previously decided to publish.

’Such censorship would be entirely inappropriate. Our report is an accurate record of the evidence we received.’

Miss Bettison confirmed she had apologised to the BBC.

She told the Isle of Man Courier: ’I should have documented that I was "advised", rather than asserted the statement about the BBC as fact, as I do not have evidence.

’It was asserted to me when I was in the count and I was obviously unable to check the internet as my mobile data was switched off, as per policy.

’I received a text message congratulating me on winning Douglas East before the recount had started and, on replying asking how the person knew, they told me they had seen it on the BBC website.’

Miss Bettison added: ’The report makes no criticism of the BBC, as we know there were no BBC journalists in the room.’

She said it was possible that the text message arose from a comment on social media or that someone who left before the recount leaked the result.

It was not possible to prove anything ’except that, one way or the other, the result got out before it was declared.

Tynwald later approved the majority of recommendations made by the select committee, including an investigation into the feasibility of online voting - see the full report in next week’s Isle of Man Examiner, which will be in shops from Tuesday (June 27).