KEY POINTS:
The Gaza appeal which the BBC is refusing to broadcast raised 600,000 ($1.59 million) before it was shown.
Donations flooded in to the Disasters Emergency Committee website before the initial transmission of the two-minute appeal on ITV1 yesterday.
Yesterday, Sky News sided with its main newsgathering rival in refusing to broadcast the appeal for aid for Gaza as the head of the BBC ruled out any last-minute policy change over its own decision.
The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, said the public broadcaster had a duty to cover the Middle East in a "balanced, objective way".
The BBC has received more than 15,000 complaints and been criticised by 50 MPs and two archbishops.