The BBC has become embroiled in a row over charity favouritism after it banned Graham Norton from wearing a red ribbon on air for World Aids Day but then allowed The One Show presenters to promote Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper campaign.

Even though guests on Graham Norton’s 29 November show were all allowed to wear red ribbons to denote World Aids Day, Norton himself was forbidden from doing so as according to the BBC, its presenters must not wear “charitable or campaigning insignia” as the organisation must “ensure impartiality”.

However, Norton refused to obey the rule and went ahead and pinned one to his shirt for the duration of his show.  He was reprimanded by BBC entertainment controller Mark Linsey, who told the BBC’s in-house magazine Ariel: “World Aids Day is an issue that Graham cares passionately about and he did wear a World Aids Day insignia on his programme.

“However, this is in breach of BBC guidelines. The production company has been contacted and reminded that he cannot do this and Graham has accepted he was wrong to do so. The BBC has been assured it will not occur again.”

But the National Aids Trust is not satisfied with this response and has launched an email petition to persuade the BBC’s director general Lord Hall to review the policy.  It states: “In these times of low public awareness of HIV in the UK, if someone feels passionately enough to want to wear a ribbon that should be encouraged, not penalised. We believe the BBC’s current rules which ban the wearing of red ribbons around World Aids Day are illogical and unfair.

“In the same way that presenters may wear the poppy, we believe there is an extremely strong case for exempting the red ribbon from any BBC policy preventing the wearing of awareness ribbons and symbols.”

Critics of the BBC's policy have also pointed out that the Corporation’s rules on charitable symbolism appear to be inconsistent.  The poppy has always been exempted from the rules because it is “recognised as a symbol of national remembrance for those who have died in conflict”, said the Corporation.

But in 2011, the BBC’s deputy political editor James Landale was filmed shaving off his Movember moustache in support of prostate cancer. And just last Friday, Save the Children’s ‘National Christmas Jumper Day’, Chris Evans and Alex Jones wore Christmas jumpers on The One Show and openly discussed the campaign.

When questioned on this apparent discrepancy by gay rights newspaper PinkNews, the BBC issued the following statement: “Last night’s edition of The One Show had a knitted theme and incuded guests based on this topic.

“In keeping with this theme and the festive season the presenters wore Christmas jumpers. The One Show also reported on the Save the Children Guinness World Record attempt, as did several other news and media outlets, as this was a topical timely news event.”

PinkNews wrote that it was clear from the reference to ‘National Christmas Jumper Day’ and to the world record attempt, that either the presenters were wearing Christmas jumpers to support the charity “or some bizarre coincidence had occurred that also meant that the presenters and around 30 people in the studio appeared wearing Christmas-themed jumpers”.