The journalist Amol Rajan who fronted the recent BBC controversial royal documentary once criticised its 'utterly relentless, spirit-crushing monarchist propaganda' and joked about 'throwing a brick' at Prince William and Kate, it emerged today.

Rajan, 38, posted around 20 critical tweets about the royals over a period between March 2010 and January 2013 when he was working for The Independent newspaper, but before being appointed editor in June 2013. 

The revelations should pile fresh pressure on the BBC over its handling of Rajan's two-part documentary, which drew unprecedented censure from Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace and bias accusations.

The tweets emerged after Rajan apologised on Twitter this morning for describing the public role of William and Kate as a 'total fraud' and calling Philip a 'racist buffoon' in articles written in 2012 for The Independent.