Entire BBC Board Of Governors Came Close To Quitting
Former BBC director general, Greg Dyke, has revealed that the entire BBC board of Governors came close to resigning as the Corporation descended into chaos following the publication of the Hutton Report.
Dyke, who stepped down last week, said he had urged the ten-strong board of Governors not to quit following the conclusions of Lord Hutton’s inquiry, which found the BBC defective in its handling of events surrounding the death of Ministry of Defence weapons advisor Dr David Kelly (see Dyke’s Departure Casts Doubt Over Future Role Of BBC).
The former director general told BBC One’s Breakfast With Frost programme: “The governors discussed whether they should all go. I urged them not to – you can’t have a BBC with no-one there.”
He also confirmed speculation that he had effectively been sacked and said he told the governors that he could not continue in his job unless he had their confidence. He claimed: “At that stage, I left the room. An hour or so later they decided to suggest I leave. I had offered it: that was it.”
Dyke went on to emphasise the importance of the BBC remaining independent of Government and renewed his criticism of Tony Blair’s former media chief, Alastair Campbell, for allegedly bullying the BBC over its coverage of the Iraq war.
He said: “What Alastair Campbell was clearly trying to do was intimidate the BBC so that we reported what he wanted us to report. The moment the BBC starts kow-towing to the Government, you might as well close it down completely.”
Reports suggest that Dyke is planning to hire a team of independent lawyers this week to examine whether a legal challenge can be mounted against the report by Lord Hutton that forced him to resign.
If the lawyers determine that there are grounds to contest the report it could pave the way for a judicial review of Hutton’s hugely critical findings against the BBC. Former BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, who also resigned last week, is believed to be helping his former colleague with financial support for any legal bills (see Davies Resigns Following Hutton Report Criticisms).
Meanwhile, ministers searching for the next BBC chairman have announced that, for the first time, the selection will be monitored by an independent panel. Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, said that the process would be overseen at every stage by parliamentarians from the three main parties.
Last month the Government launched a wide-ranging review of the BBC designed to look afresh at the shape and purposes of the Corporation amid growing criticism over the role of its governors and its use of the licence fee (see Government Details Root And Branch Review Of BBC).
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