Populist public broadcaster WNL has withdrawn an invitation to Tunahan Kuzu, leader of political party Denk, to guest present breakfast show Goedemorgen Nederland.

WNL has invited a different party leader to present and edit the show every day in the run up to the provincial elections on March 20.

Kuzu was invited to join the line up a couple of weeks ago but WNL has now cancelled the invite, saying it fears he would ‘negatively influence the contents’ of the show.

‘Our editor in chief does not think it appropriate to have you as guest editor after all the attacks you have made on the freedom of the press,’ presenter Maaike Timmerman told Kuzu, who was instead a guest on Wednesday morning’s programme.

Kuzu accused the show of gutter journalism and said it is discriminating on both political and ethnic grounds.

WNL editor in chief Bert Huisjes said later on Radio 1 Denk, which has three seats in parliament, is the only political party in the Netherlands ‘which would not appear to understand how the freedom of the press operates in the Netherlands.’

Political scientist Tom Louwerse said in a reaction on Twitter: ‘Perhaps the concept of having politicians as guest editor is a very bad idea anyway from the point of view of an independent press.’