'We're partly to blame for Dr Kelly's death' says BBC governor

Telegraph ^ | September 14, 2003 | Colin Brown

[Prodigal Son]

Internal emails disclosed to the Hutton Inquiry reveal that BBC governors feared the corporation was partly to blame for the death of Dr David Kelly, whose apparent suicide triggered the judicial investigation.

Three days after Dr Kelly's body was found, Professor Fabian Monds, the BBC governor in Northern Ireland, sent an email to Gavyn Davies, the chairman, expressing his concern.

"We are all troubled by the thought that our actions may have contributed, however indirectly, to this tragedy. Dr Kelly is one victim of this situation; there are others," said the email.

Another governor has also expressed disquiet about the way in which the Today programme tried to make it seem that MI6, the intelligence service, had reservations about the government's September 2002 dossier, by claiming that the source for their reports was an "intelligence" officer, when, in fact, he was not.

Dame Ruth Deech, also one of the governors, emailed Mr Davies, saying that "the weak spot" in the reporting by Andrew Gilligan, the defence correspondent of the Today programme, was the description of Dr Kelly as an "intelligence" officer.

"The origin of that should be looked at as part, perhaps, of an examination of editorial control," Dame Ruth wrote.

The disclosure that governors had concerns about the BBC's behaviour will increase the pressure on Greg Dyke, the corporation's director general, when he is called to give evidence for the first time to the inquiry tomorrow.

It will also add to the internal pressure on Mr Dyke. Some governors have privately expressed disquiet about the way in which they were hurried into defending the BBC's coverage when they met in emergency session on July 6. Some now believe they were not given all the facts, including internal emails from editors expressing reservations about Mr Gilligan's work.

The governors were responding to an email sent to them by Mr Davies on July 21 under the heading "Personal and Confidential". It set out a detailed defence of the attacks on the BBC and its style of reporting. In his message, Mr Davies said that there was a desire among the governors to "look again at the general style of BBC news reporting and the question of training and maintaining standards, as well as the question of writing articles for outside newspapers. We can come to this once the current firestorm has died down".

He added that the affair had put "unprecedented strains on the BBC, its governance and its management". The emails are the first evidence that the governors felt the BBC was partly responsible for the defence expert's death.

They will add to the pressure on Mr Gilligan, who is expected to be recalled for further questioning about his report alleging that Downing Street "sexed up" the September 2002 dossier on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

[cyborg]

In the end, the only person responsible for Kelly's death is Kelly. Suicide is so sad really. People suck whether you are alive or dead, so might as well stay alive.

[LiberationIT]

This all would have been avoided had Andrew Gilligan not lied in his "report" that the Blair government was sexing up its report on the threat posed by Saddam.

The BBC wants us to believe that the government’s search for either a lying leak or a lying reporter led to the suicide. Not so.

Dr. Kelly's death can be laid directly at Andrew Gilligan's feet. And the continued employment of a frequently lying reporter rests with the BBC.

The BBC must lose its public funding.

[ChadGore]

Hey BBC! NO BLOOD FOR RATINGS !!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Bump!