BBC News presenter Martine Croxall is said to have been taken off the air, after a potential breach of impartiality during last night's edition of The Papers.
During her initial introduction to the widely-watched programme, starting at 10.30pm, Croxall commented: "Well this is all very exciting isn't it? Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well I am."
The comment came just 90 minutes after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he had pulled out of the Tory Leadership race - The Mirror reports.
Read more: Tories say election is ‘morally unavoidable’ after Boris Johnson pulls out of leadership race
In her opening question to guests, she also added: "Can we even show you the front pages just yet, have they arrived? No they haven't arrived. It's all a little bit, you know, lastminute.com isn't it?
"Because all the front pages were probably out of date by the time we received them."
Some viewers - including a number of several Tory MPs - reacted to the viral clip on social media, whilst complaining that it displayed bias. In response, the British Broadcasting Corporation released a statement.
It read: "BBC News is urgently reviewing last night's edition of The Papers on the News Channel for a potential breach of impartiality. It is imperative that we maintain the highest editorial standards.
"We have processes in place to uphold our standards, and these processes have been activated."
It is now understood that Croxall has been taken off air following the review, according to PA news agency. Following Martine's comments on The Papers, many viewers took to social media to share their frustration – with some calling for an Ofcom investigation.
"Martine Croxall of BBC News shows her bias when surely a newsreader should be impartial. Unfit for the job," said one angry viewer, while another, added: "@Ofcom please moderate horribly biased @BBCNews woman Martine Croxall @MartineBBC shouting over @ScottBentonMP for daring to support the democratically elected @BorisJohnson It's unrepresentative and intolerable that have to pay her wages or go to jail."
A third tweeted: "Martine Croxall is rightly being pilloried for this partisan display of giddy excitement as News broke of Boris Johnson dropping out of the Leadership contest. This lapse of impartiality and professionalism illustrates why so many accuse the BBC of bias."
The BBC has a strict set of guidelines for employees which prohibits them from expressing any bias, with Section 4.1 of their editorial guidelines stating: "The term 'due' means that the impartiality must be adequate and appropriate to the output, taking account of the subject and nature of the content, the likely audience expectation and any signposting that may influence that expectation."
The Mirror has approached the BBC for further comment.
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