Sachsgate was down to bias against BBC, says Russell Brand

Comedian Russell Brand has revealed that the so-called Sachsgate controversy erupted because of a bias against the BBC.

"Sachsgate", were a series of voice messages that Brand and TV presenter Jonathan Ross left on the answering machine of actor Andrew Sachs in 2008.

He told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs the incident was exploited by elements of the media seeking to "attack and diminish the BBC".

As a result to the Sachsgate affair, Brand and the controller of Radio 2 resigned, and Ross was suspended from broadcasting for three months.

Brand claimed that the thousands of people who complained were motivated by an agenda against publicly-funded media.