Saturday, January 31, 2004
So Gavyn Davies, Greg Dyke and Andrew Gilligan have all resigned from the BBC. It's a strange world we live in when men have to resign due to small errors whilst others get away with large ones. No one really believes the Hutton report unless they have something to gain from the BBC's downfall and by accepting a report that clears them so comprehensively the Government is just making trouble for itself in the long run. A judgement that had accepted the self-evident truth that while Gilligan erred in his broadcast Dr. Kelly was used as a political football by Alistair Campbell for reasons both political and vindictive would have given both sides some consolation and it would all be yesterday's news.
It was perhaps not surprising that Lord Hutton would decide not to rule on whether the intelligence on Iraq was accurate or not, fortunately we have other avenues that have shown that it wasn't. But there was a lot of evidence which our noble lord apparently judged to be irrelevent, on how the information was processed 'tween agency and public. Both Campbell and Powell were shown to have phrases changed to alter meaning. If that is beyond the scope of Lord Hutton we need to have an enquiry that covers it. The BBC may have been wrong in this case, Lord Hutton was unable to prevent the country from seeing that the Government do have a case to answer.
But, whither BBC? The important thing to remember is that this case doesn't mean the BBC News staff are a bunch of anarchic crusty-hippies who all decamp to Glastonbury come the summer. Part of the problem comes from the fact that Campbell complained so much that it was initially difficult for the Government to read it as anything more than him just complaining for the sake of it. What Campbell wanted was sycophantic coverage of all the government's deeds. But if the BBC obeyed and Labour were in Opposition he would have spent the summer complaining as bitterly about Government bias.
If we can't trust the Government in something as major as a war, we can't trust the Government when it comes to the renewal of the BBC's Charter. Check the BBC website here and be ready, when the time comes, to Fax Your MP to make sure that this episode isn't used to turn the BBC back into the propaganda wing of the current British administration.
And page 9 of today's Telegraph, a full page ad in support of Greg Dyke and the BBC's independence paid for by BBC staff. Even listed in what must be about point 4 size type they say they have more names that can fit on the page. Respect!
It was perhaps not surprising that Lord Hutton would decide not to rule on whether the intelligence on Iraq was accurate or not, fortunately we have other avenues that have shown that it wasn't. But there was a lot of evidence which our noble lord apparently judged to be irrelevent, on how the information was processed 'tween agency and public. Both Campbell and Powell were shown to have phrases changed to alter meaning. If that is beyond the scope of Lord Hutton we need to have an enquiry that covers it. The BBC may have been wrong in this case, Lord Hutton was unable to prevent the country from seeing that the Government do have a case to answer.
But, whither BBC? The important thing to remember is that this case doesn't mean the BBC News staff are a bunch of anarchic crusty-hippies who all decamp to Glastonbury come the summer. Part of the problem comes from the fact that Campbell complained so much that it was initially difficult for the Government to read it as anything more than him just complaining for the sake of it. What Campbell wanted was sycophantic coverage of all the government's deeds. But if the BBC obeyed and Labour were in Opposition he would have spent the summer complaining as bitterly about Government bias.
If we can't trust the Government in something as major as a war, we can't trust the Government when it comes to the renewal of the BBC's Charter. Check the BBC website here and be ready, when the time comes, to Fax Your MP to make sure that this episode isn't used to turn the BBC back into the propaganda wing of the current British administration.
And page 9 of today's Telegraph, a full page ad in support of Greg Dyke and the BBC's independence paid for by BBC staff. Even listed in what must be about point 4 size type they say they have more names that can fit on the page. Respect!
