Daily Telegraph political commentator resigns over newspaper's coverage of HSBC

The chief political commentator for The Daily Telegraph has resigned over the British newspaper's coverage of the HSBC scandal, alleging it was part of a pattern to downplay critical coverage of the bank in order to preserve lucrative advertising contracts.

Peter Oborne accused the newspaper of carrying out a form of "fraud on its readers" by providing such limited coverage of leaked records showing that the bank helped wealthy clients avoid paying taxes.

Oborne alleges in an article on the website Open Democracy that readers "needed a microscope" to find the Telegraph coverage.

The Telegraph countered that the "the distinction between advertising and our award-winning editorial operation has always been fundamental to our business. We utterly refute any allegation to the contrary."

HSBC declined comment.