The Thatcher government took a strong stance against terrorism in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, and as the Carrickmore (1979) and Real Lives (1985) rows illustrate, it had particular views about the way broadcasters reported both acts of terrorism and the war against terrorism.
The Libyan assault of 14 April 1986, when the US launched bombing raids on Tripoli and Benghazi following a terrorist attack on a German nightclub used by American servicemen, fell into the second category.
At the time, Conservative Party Chairman Norman Tebbit complained that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's reporting portrayed the raids, for which the Americans were granted use of British air bases, as bullying.
Six months later he produced a detailed analysis of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's reporting of the raids and of the way the reports were presented in bulletins. Headlines, emphasis and the wording of reports were compared with ITN's reporting of the same story.
The Tebbit dossier said the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's coverage was "riddled with inaccuracy, innuendo and imbalance", and it called for a review of managerial and editorial standards.
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ responded with a point-by-point rebuttal of the Tebbit critique and a letter from Marmaduke Hussey, new in the job of Chairman following the death of Stuart Young, saying the Corporation would not be intimidated.
The row simmered briefly, Tebbit describing the rebuttals as an exercise in "statistical gymnastics", and promising to continue monitoring Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ output.
Four months later a new chapter in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ opened with the dismissal of Alasdair Milne as Director-General, after which relations between the Government and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ began to thaw.