Last week, at the end of BBC1’s Watchdog consumer affairs programme

, the presenters announced “and we’ve got a new phone number, 020 8535 1000…” – what they didn’t mention was that their old phone number was one of the many 0870 disguised premium rate rip-off numbers (where the caller pays the recipient at high rates, often paying to be held in a queue!) that have proliferated across the BBC, government departments and second-rate call centre operations across rip-off Britain over the last few years, as previously highlighted here at Biased BBC.

Hopefully after a decently short interval the BBC’s fearless Watchdog will recover from its longstanding hypocrisy and get on with what it should have been doing all along, namely exposing and challenging this BT inspired scam that has ripped off consumers for years in the finest traditions of the former state telecoms monopoly that should have been broken up properly long ago.

While we’re on the subject of Watchdog, keep an eye out for their occasional inclusion of enviro-propaganda masquerading as consumer affairs – for instance, an anti-car piece broadcast a few months ago publicised enviro-loonies as they went around harassing law abiding drivers, and an apparent throwaway comment in last night’s edition “Now, global warming may be about to turn Britain into a group of islands linked by underwater motorways…”.