'BBC treats us like a joke,' says IDS

The Tories will lodge a formal complaint against the BBC as part of a campaign to shed their image as a political joke and be taken seriously.

At a weekend conference devoted to getting the party united behind a new "fair deal for everyone'' campaign, Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative Party leader, publicly lambasted the BBC's local election coverage.

He said party chairman Theresa May had prepared a dossier of complaints and allegations against the BBC which would be presented to the highest level of the corporation. ''We are a serious party that could get into government at the next election,'' Mr Duncan Smith said, "and we want this party to be treated seriously by the broadcasters.''

Referring to the recent local council elections, Mr Duncan Smith said "it was not an aberration'' for the BBC to make it look as though the Tories had failed against all expectations, when in fact the party had won more seats than expected.

Citing the support of former Today programme editor Rod Liddle, now associate editor of The Spectator, Mr Duncan Smith said: "It is not by accident. It happens all the damn time. They set their mind about how they perceive you ... and do nothing but report you in that light.''

The team-building weekend, at the Latimer Conference Centre in rural Buckinghamshire, itself concluded yesterday that one of the key issues facing the Tories is communication. The Tories have built up a "strong work programme of policies'', Mr Duncan Smith said, but they were not getting them across to the general public.

It was clearly with these concerns in mind that the Tory leader studiously avoided the pitfalls of his predecessor William Hague's disastrous attempts at running a bonding session, and there wasn't a woolly jumper or a baseball cap in sight. Mr Duncan Smith was also keen to keep discussion away from his party's recent internal troubles.

He made a clear guarantee that ordinary party members would not have to foot the bill to pay off the Conservatives' former chief executive, Barry Legg, whose lawyers insist he is due two years' salary – £160,000. But Mr Duncan Smith, when pressed to give an assurance that the money would not come from party coffers, said: "All I can say is the answer is yes.'' He went on to make it clear that this was a matter which would be dealt with internally.

The Shadow Home Secretary, Oliver Letwin, said the party had realised it must not let such issues spiral out of control. "We need to make sure that these minor administrative matters are attended to with clarity and seriousness so that no one can turn them into a big story,'' he said.

Mr Letwin admitted things were "never going to be perfect'' but said the party must try to avoid being seen as a "disorganised rabble''and hold internal debates in a more sensible manner.

Referring to recent calls to replace the party leader, made by the MP Crispin Blunt, he said: "I think Crispin has done the party an enormous favour in an odd kind of way. He has crystallised that there is not the enthusiasm for having a new leader every day of the week.''

Tory MPs, too, as they drove off in their Land Rovers, flashy soft tops and, in the case of Desmond Swayne, a rather bizarre beaten-up 2CV plastered with anti-euro stickers and carrying an inflatable purple parcel on its back seat, were careful not to spoil the mood.

Even Anthony Steen, never one of Mr Duncan Smith's biggest fans, said he had had a good time. There was no trace of sarcasm on his face as he said: "It is always nice to spend the weekend with friends.''

The Conservative Party's decision to take on the BBC is understood to have been provoked by a spat between veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby and the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Michael Howard, on election night two weeks ago.

But yesterday the BBC defended its election night coverage, adding that it would not comment on the dossier until it had seen it. A spokesman said: "We take all complaints to the BBC seriously, and when we receive the dossier we will investigate fully.''