BBC branded disgraceful by Royal British Legion after refusing to give airtime to Poppy appeal song Charity's official track has been left of corporation's radio playlists Legion hopes to raise money with No Man's Land performed by Joss Stone Insider said decision was because BBC 'backed' Children in Need The BBC is refusing to give any regular airtime to the Royal British Legion's poppy appeal song, in a decision condemned as "disgraceful" by supporters of the military charity. As the nation marks 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War, the charity's official track has been left off the corporation's radio playlists. The legion hopes to raise money with the release of the track No Man's Land performed by Joss Stone. News of the BBC snub came as the centenary was marked with Remembrance commemoration services held up and down the country yesterday. The corporation said the track was played twice yesterday and also last week, but the Royal British Legion described the decision to keep it off the playlists as "disappointing." The Royal British Legion said the decision to keep their official track No Man's Land off BBC playlists was 'disappointing' A record industry insider said the song, which features guitarist Jeff Beck, was not on Radio 1 or 2 playlists because the stations had already "backed" the Children In Need single. The source told The Mirror last night: "It's disgraceful, a ridiculous decision. Joss Stone and Jeff Beck are spot on for Radio 2 - it should be on the playlist, it's as simple as that. The record producers were told it couldn't be put on the playlist because the BBC had already backed Children in Need single, God Only Knows. 81 shares No Man's Land has been played a couple of times by Terry Wogan and Vanessa Feltz but they are big supporters of the Legion - I don't think their producers would have the strength to tell them not to play it. Why it's not on the official playlist, especially this week, is beyond belief. The playlists are decided every week by a panel of 10 radio producers. The song - written in 1976 by Eric Bogle - was performed by Joss Stone in front of the Queen at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday. The single was released on Monday last week and 40 per cent of each sale will go to the charity. Tribute: Guitarist Jeff Beck and singer Joss Stone, who teamed up to record this year's official Poppy Appeal single, take to the stage at the Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall The record's executive producer Liam Maguire said: "We respect the BBC's choice not to support the track but we don't necessarily agree with it. We hope the great British public comes out and buys the single to push it to No1 and raise money for our brave armed forces community. Charles Byrne, director of fundraising at the Royal British Legion, said: "It is disappointing the single has not been playlisted by BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 but we understand there are policies in place." The BBC snub is not the only woe to hit the fundraising track. Last week, the song's writer, now 70, said No Man's Land (Green Fields Of France) "s anti-war message had been lost with lines taken out for Stone's version. Those behind the new track left out the lyrics that refer to "man's blind indifference to his fellow man. And a whole generation who were butchered and damned" and "the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame. The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain. Mr Bogle said: "Believe it or not I wrote the song intending for the four verses of the original song to gradually build up to what I hoped would be a climactic and strong anti-war statement. Missing out two and a half verses from the original four verses very much negates that intention. A BBC spokesman said last night: "The track has been played on Radio 2 including twice on Remembrance Sunday. The BBC has been running an extensive series of programming commemorating the fallen of World War I. It's preposterous to suggest the song hasn't been playlisted because of the Children In Need single. New releases are played at a playlist meeting every week and tracks are democratically chosen by a group of at least 10 experienced producers who know their millions of listeners well.