The BBC’s Director-General said last night that “creative risk taking” was alive at the corporation despite recent criticism from the BBC Trust directed at one of its comedians.

Mark Thompson said that the BBC was prepared to stand by controversial decisions, such as inviting the BNP on Question Time, even though it has received recurring complaints from writers and comedians that a culture of political correctness has emerged.

The critics, who included Claudia Winkleman, Clare Balding, Clive Anderson and Rick Stein, were told that there was “no evidence” of the BBC losing its nerve. In his short speech Mr Thompson highlighted comedy such as The Thick of It and Occupation, the Iraq war drama.

Last month the BBC Trust rebuked Frankie Boyle, the comedian, for describing Rebecca Adlington, the double Olympic gold medalist, on Mock The Week as looking like “somebody who is looking at themselves in the back of a spoon”. He refused to apologise.

Mr Thompson said that he “wanted Mock The Week to be on the edge” and that he wanted “people to have the space to do their best work”.

Responding to a question from Sir Michael Lyons, the Chairman of the BBC Trust, he said that it did not mark the “beginning of a BBC Taleban”.

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