BBC Director-General blasts John Inverdale's comment about Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli

The Beeb's boss Tony Hall responded to a letter from the Culture Secretary over Inverdale's controversial comments about the women's champion which he branded as 'unacceptable'.

The broadcaster received 674 complaints after Inverdale said Bartoli 'was never going to be a looker', sparking Mrs Miller to call for further action to be taken against him.

In his letter, Mr Hall said: "I agree that the comments made by John during the build-up to the Women's Final were totally unacceptable and fell well beneath the standards we expect of our presenters.

"John sincerely regrets that he made such an inappropriate statement and for the offence caused. As he said on-air the following day, he has written to Marion Bartoli to apologise and the BBC has also apologised for John's remarks.

"In addition, the director of sport and the controller of 5 live have both spoken to John to make it clear that his comments were unacceptable and that an incident of this nature must never happen again."

In her letter to the BBC Director General Mrs Miller said the world number seven had been treated in a 'derogatory' way by Inverdale.

It is believed the Conservative politician has also met with broadcasters a number of times over the past year to improve coverage of women's sports.

In her letter she said: "It is ... a matter of some concern to me that any comment on the looks and stature of a female athlete could be made in the context of one of the highlights of the UK's, and indeed the world's, sporting calendar.

"I am sure you will agree with me that it is vital that young women and girls in this country feel motivated both to take part in and to watch coverage of sport, and to know that they are included in the enjoyment of sport, and catered for by the media just as much as the male audience."

Inverdale's comments, which were made before the women's Wimbledon final on Radio 5 Live, sparked outrage on Twitter and social networking sites.

Tweeters labelled Inverdale a 'sexist dinosaur' while other people called for the 55-year-old to loose his job.

He said: "Do you think Bartoli's dad told her when she was little, 'You're never going to be a looker, you'll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight'?"

The following day he attempted to clarify the 'ham-fisted' comments he made, saying he wrote Bartoli a personal letter of apology.

Inverdale explained: "The point I was trying to make in a rather ham-fisted kind of way is that the public perception of tennis players is that they're all 6 feet-tall Amazonian athletes.

"Marion, who is the Wimbledon champion, bucks that trend, and she is a fantastic example to all young people that it's attitude, and will and determination together obviously with talent that in the end gets you to the top.

"I've apologised to Marion by letter if any offence was caused and I do hope that we can leave the matter there."

Sports coach James Marshall, who runs Devon-based coaching company Excelsior, believes female athletes face discrimination and a lack of opportunities.

He feels they are advantaged due to their gender and are often precluded from success in their chosen sport.

The sports coach believes Andy Murray's victory at Wimbledon overshadowing Virginia Wade's past triumph is a clear example of it.

Mr Marshall said: "Much of the media coverage surrounding Andy Murray’s recent Wimbledon success centres around the first British win since Fred Perry in 1936.

"But a British athlete won the title in 1977. Virginia Wade’s achievement has been largely ignored by the British media. Her win has been almost written out of history. This is the danger with disadvantaging young female athletes, they aren’t even given the chance to achieve."