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Gilligan quits BBC over Kelly row
BBC ^ | January 30, 2004

Posted on 01/30/2004 11:44:47 AM PST by HAL9000

BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan has resigned in the wake of the criticism directed at him in the Hutton report.

Mr Gilligan conceded some of his story was wrong, and apologised for it.

He said his departure was at his own initiative, but described the BBC collectively as the victim of a "grave injustice".

Earlier departing BBC director general Greg Dyke said he was shocked by the findings of the Hutton Inquiry and did not accept all of the report.

He said Lord Hutton had "given the benefit of doubt to every government witness and not to any at the BBC".

Mark Byford, the acting director general, said the corporation recognised that it had made errors.

He said his duty was to bring "calmness, clarity, leadership" to the organisation.

"It has been a very, very difficult week - that's an under-statement," Mr Byford told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

"I would say the BBC at the top ... has shown it recognises that it's been an extremely turbulent week.

"It recognises that it has lost - quite extraordinary for any organisation - both its chairman and chief executive, but ... it must move forward ... there have been mistakes, it's a learning organisation ... and will be stronger from it."

Mr Byford is leading an internal inquiry into what went wrong and the steps needed to ensure it does not happen again.

'Grave concern'

He said the BBC had "a duty of care" to all its employees, including the Today defence correspondent Mr Gilligan, whose report was at the centre of the David Kelly controversy.

He added: "There will be a due process to consider the implications of the staff involved. I will lead that process."

Earlier, Mr Dyke told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was perfectly fair for people to "draw the conclusion that I don't accept all of the report".

"Our legal team were all very surprised by the nature of the report."

Mr Dyke suggested the implications for journalism coming from the report were a matter of grave concern for the media.

"Lord Hutton does seem to suggest that it is not enough for a broadcaster or a newspaper... to simply report what a whistleblower says because they are an authoritative source. You have to demonstrate that it is true. That would change the law in this country."

He said he had had to offer his resignation after the report but had not wanted to go.

Under pressure

Speaking outside his home in Twickenham, south west London, he said: "The governors were in an incredibly difficult position. Hutton was very critical of the BBC - so critical that the chairman had decided to resign and I too felt I had to resign.

"They decided I did not have their full support."

Ex-culture secretary Chris Smith said there had been no need for heads to roll at the BBC and called for next Wednesday's Commons debate on the Hutton report to examine the issues surrounding the Iraq war.

Tony Blair is under pressure to make a statement on the intelligence he presented to Parliament on Iraq's weapons after the US national security chief admitted for the first time there may have been flaws in the gathering of material about the Iraqi arsenal.

Downing Street says it will wait and see whether the Iraq Survey Group turns up evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

'Matter should rest'

The prime minister's official spokesman said Lord Hutton's report had been fair. "A dispassionate judge has looked at the facts and has made his judgment on the facts. That's where the matter should rest.

"We accept there was a lot of emotion and a lot of anger yesterday but the judge has reached his conclusions on his assessment of the facts and what people should recognise is that this is the judge's verdict."

THE HUTTON REPORT

BBC director of news Richard Sambrook has sent an email to all staff saying he will be working with Mr Byford, senior editors and news managers to look at ways to rebuild trust in the corporation.

Meanwhile ministers have stressed the importance of a BBC independent of government influence in the wake of Lord Hutton's criticisms of the corporation.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said: "A BBC that is nobody's lapdog, that challenges government and raises debate - that is in all our interests."



TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: andrewgilligan; bb; bbc; davidkelly; gilligan; iraq; kelly; resignation; sexedup
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To: Moonman62
....and would probably have resulted in the fall of the Blair government if it had turned out to be true.

That's what this was really. A coup attempt.

41 posted on 01/30/2004 12:24:04 PM PST by mewzilla
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To: HAL9000

I QUIT!
42 posted on 01/30/2004 12:25:57 PM PST by Johnny Gage (God Bless our Firefighters, our Police, our EMS responders, and our Veterans)
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To: mewzilla
You forgot a couple....

add the CBC and Al Jazeera to the list
43 posted on 01/30/2004 12:29:23 PM PST by SolutionsOnly
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To: HAL9000
Per Gilligan:

I pay tribute to David Kelly. This report casts a chill over all journalism, not just the BBC's. It seeks to hold reporters, with all the difficulties they face, to a standard that it does not appear to demand of, for instance, Government dossiers.

Is this the same chill wind that Tim Robbins was talking about? /sarcasm

44 posted on 01/30/2004 12:31:11 PM PST by BushisTheMan
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To: HAL9000
"Lord Hutton does seem to suggest that it is not enough for a broadcaster or a newspaper... to simply report what a whistleblower says because they are an authoritative source. You have to demonstrate that it is true. That would change the law in this country."

Sheesh! These jokers at the BBC still won't acknoweldge the fact that Gilligan lied when he said he had an authoritative source (i.e. Dr. Kelly) that was telling him that the Blair administration had 'sexed up' the intelligence it was getting in order to justify going to war.

45 posted on 01/30/2004 12:34:42 PM PST by vbmoneyspender
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To: HAL9000
[Placeholder for another Gilligan's Island joke. Probably something about the Professor. ;o)]
46 posted on 01/30/2004 12:37:16 PM PST by In_25_words_or_less
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To: vbmoneyspender
And then, when the Government denied it--failed utterly to question Gilligan and announced haughtily it was standing by the story. Then, to add insult to injury implied it was the Government's fault that Kelly killed himself. (Convenient editing of the facts by the Beeb.)
47 posted on 01/30/2004 12:44:11 PM PST by the Real fifi
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To: HAL9000
there should be a bunch more...their made up reporting drove someone to kill themself!
48 posted on 01/30/2004 12:52:41 PM PST by BurbankKarl
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To: HAL9000
If only he'd known years ago that all he had to do to get off the island was just say "I quit."
49 posted on 01/30/2004 12:53:42 PM PST by Petronski (I'm not always cranky.)
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To: HAL9000
For starters, Richard Sambrook needs to go - now.
50 posted on 01/30/2004 12:58:00 PM PST by Heatseeker
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To: mewzilla
Just the pertinent facts.....can't see why everyone is so upset.......whine whine whine......
51 posted on 01/30/2004 12:59:19 PM PST by OldFriend (Always understand, even if you remain among the few)
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To: BushisTheMan
An interesting quote here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61701-2004Jan29?language=printer

BBC staffers are not allowed to speak publicly without authorization. Privately, however, several expressed deep dismay that the corporation's managers had allowed the Gilligan affair to spin out of control. "Frankly speaking, everybody's completely gobsmacked that one duff report by one weird reporter has caused the whole foundation to shake," a senior journalist said. "It's like the second-rate burglary that pulls the entire house down."

One weird reporter...LOL!

52 posted on 01/30/2004 1:15:03 PM PST by BushisTheMan
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To: demnomo
Now, if only the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) would have a meltdown. The CBC is as bad, if not worse, than the BBC when it comes to leftist hogwash...

I agree, the CBC is so far left it makes the Beeb look like Fox.

However, unlike the BBC, which is funded mostly by TV license fees, the CBC gets their money the old-fashioned way: Straight from the government. Which means their funding is subject to the whims of the political Zeitgeist in the Canadian government at any given time. As such, the CBC has been hit with massive downsizings more than once in recent years, and that's under a hard-left government that absolutely loves the CBC's "news" reporting. If and when a conservative government ever gets into power, expect the CBC to be largely dismantled, or else forced to go it alone as a for-profit entity. It may be 10 or 20 years down the road, but the CBC will not be around forever.

53 posted on 01/30/2004 1:21:59 PM PST by Timesink
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To: Constitution Day
Just send Mary-Anne over here...
54 posted on 01/30/2004 1:25:12 PM PST by AzSteven
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To: BushisTheMan
The BBC said that they "stood" by their reporter's (Gilligan) story.

Well, it turns out that Gilligan *fabricated* Dr. Kelley's alleged quotes. And so, the story itself failed when examined by outside fact checkers.

Well, if the story falls when you are standing by it, then you fall too.

Good riddance to the left-wing Rubbish at the BBC.

55 posted on 01/30/2004 1:25:30 PM PST by Southack (Media bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: Always
Looks like Lord Hutton and his surgical team done picked one monster scab.

Call in the scrubs. They're gonna need some Major Disinfecting 'round the shop.
56 posted on 01/30/2004 1:27:26 PM PST by GretchenEE (The woman who walks with God always gets to her destination.)
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To: Timesink
TV license fees? You mean the TV tax? That's still the gov't, at least to my mind :) But what you're saying is that basically both the Beeb and the CBC are protected from any market forces. Their gov'ts have a monopoly on non-cable news.
57 posted on 01/30/2004 1:30:19 PM PST by mewzilla
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To: Warren_Piece
Does anyone else find this statement rather bizarre? Don't they have editors and fact-checkers across the pond?

It didn't help Gilligan that David Kelly denied that he was qouted correctly.

58 posted on 01/30/2004 1:32:10 PM PST by Stentor
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To: Timesink
Some of my Canadian relatives think the US is an evil entity because they believe what they see and hear on CBC. Fortunately, I have more Canadian relatives who think the CBC is one long boring joke.
59 posted on 01/30/2004 1:47:04 PM PST by demnomo
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Comment #60 Removed by Moderator


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