Tory MPs are absolutely livid after BBC presenter Jim Naughtie said on Today this morning that the ERG would be in the Front National if they were in France or the AfD in Germany:

“The ERG, Jacob Rees-Mogg’s group, in France would be in the National Front because that’s what they believe and in Germany they would be in the AfD. It’s only because of our system that the carapace of this party keeps them in…”

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has slammed Naughtie’s “outrageous” comments and called for him to withdraw his “misleading and untrue” remarks:

“It’s outrageous for a supposedly neutral BBC commentator to suggest the ERG represent an extremist view. They are in fact representing the majority view of the country – that the UK should leave the EU and its institutions. Conservative politicians who feel strongly about Brexit are decent, tolerant, and completely opposed to racism in every form. Mr Naughtie needs to withdraw his remarks. They are misleading and untrue.”

No wonder people think the BBC is biased against Brexit when they come out with claptrap like that…

UPDATE: ERG whip Mark Francois said that if Naughtie doesn’t “completely and utterly” apologise he should be sacked.

“That is an appalling and disgusting slur on around 80 members of Parliament, I think that Mr. Naughtie should completely and utterly apologise, and if he doesn’t he should be sacked by the BBC. If they don’t sack him it shows what many of us have known all along, that the BBC is an utterly biased Europhiliac organisation.”