A row has blown up over a BBC Panorama programme on Ryanair which is due to be shown tonight (Monday).

The airline claims the programme makers plan a ‘hatchet job’ and have refused an offer of either a ‘live’ or unedited pre-recorded interview with CEO Michael O’Leary.

Ryanair has published all correspondence with BBC Panorama on the home page of its website (www.ryanair.com) and denies seeking editorial control over the interview.

“All Ryanair asked for was that the interview, of whatever length (to be decided by the BBC) would not be edited, censored or cut by the Panorama editors,” an airline statement said.

O’Leary said: “BBC Panorama know that they have no case in this ‘Hatchet Job’ programme.

“We have already rubbished their false claims about hidden charges and an agreement with Airbus.”

Panorama is due to look at Ryanair's cost cutting measures in an investigation into what it describes as the airline "so many passengers love to hate".

The 'Why Hate Ryanair?" programme claims to provide an "cool, hard objective look" at the carrier as it becomes the first in the world to go completely online by eliminating check-in desks.

*The programme is to be shown tonight at 20.30 on BBC 1.