Director quits CNN's Hillary Clinton documentary because of political pressure

The Oscar-winning film director Charles Ferguson has cancelled his CNN documentary on Hillary Rodham Clinton after what he described as a private campaign against the film by prominent Democrats.

Ferguson pulled the plug after being met with a wall of silence from more than 100 people who refused to be interviewed.

He said aides to the former Democrat secretary of state under Barack Obama put pressure on CNN and made it clear Clinton would co-operate only "over my dead body".

He also blamed a campaign by Republicans, who said the film would be biased in favour of Clinton. "Neither political party wanted the film made," moaned Ferguson. "After painful reflection, I decided I couldn't make a film of which I would be proud."

Ferguson claimed Clinton's spokesman, Phillipe Reines, had "interrogated" various executives at CNN about the documentary before it was announced by the broadcaster in July.

"When I approached people for interviews, I discovered that nobody, and I mean nobody, was interested in helping me make this film," said Ferguson.