Background piece in Ariel about Frank Gardner, who was critically injured in the shooting incident in Saudi Arabia, in which his cameraman, Simon Cumbers, was killed:

WHEN RISK BECAME A REALITY

by Sally Hillier

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner was 'critical but stable' in a Saudi hospital on Monday night after the gun attack on Sunday which killed cameraman Simon Cumbers. The incident has shocked colleagues of
the two men, both highly respected journalists, and brought home the dangers to news teams in the area

Frank Gardner was gunned down in Riyadh the day after he told BBC listeners about increased risks to westerners in Saudi Arabia. In a piece for From Our own Correspondent, broadcast on Saturday, he spoke of
how thousands of expatriates were bracing themselves for further violence following last week's al-Qaeda raid on the oil town of Khobar in which 22 people, 19 of them foreigners, were killed.

'This is not the Saudi Arabia I know,' said Gardner. And he knows the
country, and indeed the Middle East, very well.

Appointed the BBC's first security correspondent in 2003, he has
established an unrivalled reputation with his reports on the global war
on terror.

Equipped with what the corporation describes as 'a unique collection of
skills' - he is a fluent Arabic speaker with an extensive knowledge of
military and intelligence issues and numerous contacts in the Arab world
he is widely respected as a chronicler and analyst of complex events.

'Frank is an outstanding reporter and one of the few correspondents to
understand and be able to work across Arabic and western boundaries,'
says Vin Ray, deputy head of newsgathering. 'He is an expert on the
Middle East, al-Qaeda and the underlying causes of the war on terror.'

A graduate in Arabic and Islamic studies, Gardner, who is 42 and married
with two children, worked as an investment banker with Saudi
International Bank before joining BBC World as a reporter in 1995. Two
years later he moved to Dubai, from where he covered a number of
countries including Kuwait and Yemen, and in 2000 became the Middle East
correspondent based in Cairo. After 9/11 he started offering his services
as a specialist reporter on al-Qaeda and international terrorism.

'He more or less invented the job of security correspondent,' says
Jonathan Baker, world editor, newsgathering. 'The creation of the post
grew out of the work he was doing. It was obvious that there was a hole
in the market and that Frank was the person to fill it. When he speaks
people sit up and take notice, and he now gets drawn into any story with
a terror perspective.'

Such is the demand for expert coverage in this area that the BBC
recently appointed a second security correspondent. Senior broadcast
journalist Gordon Corera has been given a six-month attachment, which he
has yet to take up, to help and support Gardner.

Meanwhile, goodwill messages have been pouring in for the injured
correspondent including many from listeners and viewers in the Middle
East.

'Everyone is devastated over what has happened, not least because Frank
is a genuinely nice and popular man,' says Baker.

Tony Grant, producer of From Our Own Correspondent, describes the
journalist, a regular contributor to the programme since joining the
BBC, as 'courteous, modest, unassuming... a pleasure to work with'.
Moreover he is 'ultra professional'. His knowledge is vast and all his
pieces are 'authoritative, descriptive and colourful'.

Steve Mitchell, head of radio news, agrees. 'From World Service and
Radio 4 to Radio 1, Frank is the personification of the trusted voice of
the BBC in the difficult areas of terrorism and security,' he says. 'If
he tells you something you know it's right and he tells it in a way that
helps all our audiences understand what's going on.'

Frank Gardner has been moved to a hospital in the UK, BBC News Online reported on Sunday, June 27:

Shot BBC correspondent back in UK

A BBC reporter shot in Saudi Arabia this month is back in the UK and is making good progress, the BBC has said.
Frank Gardner, the BBC's security correspondent, arrived in Britain two days ago and was taken to a UK hospital for further treatment.

Gardner, 42, and 36-year-old cameraman Simon Cumbers were both shot in a southern suburb of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on 6 June. Simon Cumbers died in the attack.

They were filming the house of an al-Qaeda militant when they were shot with a machine pistol, possibly from a passing jeep.

Gardner's wife Amanda thanked the Saudi Government for ensuring her husband got medical treatment in the capital, Riyadh, and for arranging for him to be flown back.

In a statement she said: "I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the doctors and medical staff at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh, without whose skill and care Frank's recovery would not have been possible."

Cumbers' widow, Louise Bevan, has said a private funeral is to be held for him in his hometown of Navan, County Meath, on Tuesday June 29.