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http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> News chiefs cleared http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1084179653 Message started by Forum Admin on May 10^th, 2004, 9:01am

Title: News chiefs cleared
Post by Forum Admin on May 10^th, 2004, 9:01am

The BBC's disciplinary inquiry into the Gilligan Affair has been completed and the BBC has issued the following statement:

Date : 10.05.2004

Stephen Dando, Director, BBC People, and Caroline Thomson, Director, Policy and Legal, have now reached their decisions in the BBC disciplinary process which they have been leading.

The process followed the BBC's procedures throughout and the decisions, as they relate to individuals, will remain, as is normal practice, entirely confidential between the BBC and those concerned.

However, we would wish to confirm that no dismissals were involved.

Furthermore there are two points of clarification arising from the process.

In the interests of fairness to individuals and the reputation of BBC journalism as a whole we would wish to make known:

1. In relation to the broadcast on the Today programme, on 29 May 2003, we are satisfied that a core script was properly prepared and cleared in line with normal production practices in place at the time, but was then not followed by Andrew Gilligan. We consider that the BBC's evidence to the Hutton Inquiry could have been clearer in this respect.

2. During the Hutton Inquiry much attention was drawn to an e-mail sent by the editor of the Today programme, Kevin Marsh, to the Head of Radio News, Stephen Mitchell, on 27 June 2003. Lord Hutton concluded that this e-mail should have been referred to their senior colleagues and that the fact that it was not constituted a flaw in the BBC's management system.

The impression given by the BBC's evidence was that this e-mail did not reflect the views of senior News management. The process has concluded that in fact it did reflect their views and that the views in question had been the subject of recent discussion, so there was no need for the e-mail to be referred up.

The implied criticism of Stephen Mitchell and Kevin Marsh in these aspects was in our view unjustified.

Meanwhile a separate process to identify the editorial lessons from these events is currently being conducted by another team under the chairmanship of Ronald Neil.

The acting Director-General, Mark Byford, plans to take the conclusions from the Neil Report to the Board of Governors in June.

Richard Sambrook has given a brief welcome to the outcome:

Time to put Hutton behind us, says BBC news chief

Jason Deans
The Guardian
Monday May 10, 2004

BBC director of news Richard Sambrook today told colleagues it was now time for the corporation to put the Hutton report behind it and get on with providing "strong, trusted journalism", after he and other corporation executives were cleared of mismanaging the "sexed up" Iraq dossier affair.

Mr Sambrook, one of several BBC News managers whose decision-making during the affair was today given the all-clear by the controversial internal disciplinary inquiry, added that he welcomed the fact it had concluded all those involved were "acting in what they believed were the BBC's best interests".

"I welcome the conclusion of the BBC's internal inquiry that proper editorial processes were in place on the Today programme," he said.

"I also welcome the fact that it has concluded that [Today editor] Kevin Marsh and [head of radio news] Steve Mitchell acted properly and that all those involved were acting in what they believed were the BBC's best interests," Mr Sambrook added.

"This has been a difficult period for BBC News. There are lessons to learn from the events of last year and we will be working closely with [former head of BBC News] Ron Neil in his review to ensure the BBC's journalism is of the highest standard.

"We must now put this chapter behind us and continue with our main objective: providing strong, trusted journalism to our UK and global audiences."

The inquiry was conducted by the BBC personnel director Stephen Dando and director of policy Caroline Thomson and overseen by acting director general Mark Byford.

BBC executives questioned by Mr Dando and Ms Thomson - in addition to Mr Sambrook, Mr Marsh and Mr Mitchell - included deputy director of news Mark Damazer, head of editorial policy Stephen Whittle, and Today assistant editor Miranda Holt.

A leak from the inquiry had led to these earlier newspaper reports

From today's (May 10) newspapers:

By Tim Burt, Media Editor
Financial Times; May 10, 2004

Senior editors at the BBC have been exonerated by an internal inquiry
into coverage of Iraq's weapons threat and the handling of David Kelly.
Executives including Richard Sambrook, head of news, and Kevin Marsh,
editor of the Today programme, have been cleared of wrongdoing in spite
of heavy criticism of the BBC in the Hutton report into the death of Mr
Kelly.
The weapons expert killed himself after being identified as the source of
a controversial report on the Today programme that challenged Downing
Street's treatment of intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
Gavyn Davies and Greg Dyke, the BBC's chairman and director general,
resigned following Lord Hutton's criticism. Within days of their
departure, Mark Byford, acting director-general, instituted a
disciplinary investigation of staff involved in compiling the Today
reports and responding to the government's subsequent complaints.
The three-month inquiry, led by Stephen Dando, BBC head of human
resources, and Caroline Thompson, director of policy, has concluded the
corporation's producer guidelines and complaints procedures were properly
followed. The BBC is expected to announce early this week that no
disciplinary measures will be taken against several editors and news
executives. Andrew Gilligan, the BBC reporter behind the reports,
resigned in January.
The decision to exonerate other BBC editors and producers comes as Lord
Hutton is due to appear this week at the Commons public affairs select
committee. The committee is also due to question Alastair Campbell, the
former Downing Street director of communications who attacked the BBC
reports that accused the government of exaggerating Iraqi weapons
programmes.
The BBC declined to comment last night.
A separate inquiry is continuing into proposed changes to complaints
procedures and editorial guidelines. Ronald Neil, the former BBC
production chief, is expected shortly to recommend tougher rules on
sourcing and editorial checks.

---------------------

By Ciar Byrne, Media Correspondent
Independent, 10 May 2004

Senior BBC executives have been cleared by the disciplinary inquiry set
up in the wake of the Hutton report but left "shell-shocked", angry and
distracted by the experience.
BBC director of news Richard Sambrook, his deputy Mark Damazer, Today
editor Kevin Marsh, former Newsnight editor George Entwhistle and head of
radio Stephen Mitchell, were among those questioned during the three-
months hearings which were dubbed a "kangaroo court".
Acting BBC director general Mark Byford has now brought the disciplinary
inquiry to a close before Michael Grade takes up the post of chairman on
17 May. But, despite being cleared, there is still intense ill-feeling
among those questioned over the "Guantanamo Bay" style inquiry.
A senior BBC source said: "I know how angry they are. I think they have
been really very, very upset ... They are fairly shell-shocked by the
process."
A panel led by BBC director of policy Caroline Thomson and head of
personnel Stephen Dando has decided not to take any further disciplinary
action against the executives after they defended Andrew Gilligan's Today
programme report which accused the Government of "sexing up" its Iraq
dossier.
While they will not be sacked or moved to other posts, there are still
fears that criticisms emerging from the inquiry could affect their future
career prospects at the BBC.
The executives will scrutinise a statement that the BBC is expected to
put out before Mr Grade's arrival, to see whether it unequivocally
exonerates them. Mr Marsh and the assistant editor of Today, Miranda
Holt, have already been told they are in the clear but others, such as
controller of editorial policy Stephen Whittle, who was interviewed as
recently as last week, still feel under pressure.
BBC insiders said Mr Sambrook and others have been distracted by having
to answer highly detailed questions about their every move in the row
with No. 10 over Mr Gilligan's report of 29 May 2003.
"Over the past three or four weeks, Sambrook and Damazer have been able
to do nothing except answer these highly detailed and hostile questions,
such as: 'What precise moment of the day did you first read this e-mail,
and what was your response?'" revealed a high-level BBC source.
"Sambrook has got a really big office and set of people to control, and
instead he's trying to work out what moment of what day he read that e-
mail. They have been distracted at quite a key moment."
"They've been keen to clean up the house before Michael Grade gets in
there," added the insider. Mr Grade will have no direct control over the
hearings, but has let it be known he is unhappy about the process and
hopes it will be brought to a swift conclusion.
A number of the executives are known to have consulted lawyers during the
disciplinary inquiry. While there is not thought to be sufficient ground
for legal action at present, if one of those involved is passed over for
promotion in the future, they could choose to resign and sue the BBC.
The manner of the interrogations is still an open sore at the BBC, and
has exacerbated the resentment felt against Mr Byford - particularly in
the news and current affairs departments - over his handling of the post-
Hutton fallout.
Serious concerns have been raised about the length of the inquiry and the
failure of those conducting it to set out clearly what, if anything,
people were accused of.
"Not to know what you're supposed to be accused of and for it to go on
for so long is quite unacceptable," said John Fray, deputy general
secretary of the National Union of Journalists.
In February, a group of senior BBC journalists including Newsnight
presenter Jeremy Paxman, political editor Andrew Marr, Today presenter
John Humphrys and world affairs editor John Simpson, wrote to the acting
chairman of governors Lord Ryder to express their concern at the inquiry.
The group were planning to write a follow-up letter this month, but held
fire when they learned the process was drawing to a close.
A BBC spokesman refused to comment yesterday.