Jowell pledges objective review of BBC Charter
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell pledged yesterday that the review of the BBC’s charter and license fee would not be unduly influenced by the Corp’s refusal to back down on the “sexed up” Iraqi weapons intelligence allegations.
Her intervention came after BBC chairman Gavin Davies called for rapprochement with ministers.
The Independent newspaper reported that a senior source at the BBC claimed threatening phone calls had been received from ministers, saying “we are going to get you” and pledging “vengeance.”
In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Davies said some ministers wanted to punish the Beeb for its handling of the Iraqi dossier affair.
“Our integrity is under attack and we are chastised for taking a different view on editorial matters from that of the government and its supporters.”
“Because we have had the temerity to do this, it is hinted that a system that has protected the BBC for 80 years should be swept away and replaced by an external regulator that will ‘bring the BBC to heel'”.
But Ms Jowell told the BBC the review would be undertaken in the normal fashion with “no question of revenge or any of these other dark motives” previously alluded to.
“There is absolutely no question at all that the Charter review will be used as any kind of way of settling scores or taking revenge on the BBC.”
She said yesterday in a statement: “We have made it plain throughout that we will uphold completely the independence of the BBC.
“We entirely reject the BBC chairman’s attempts to confuse our desire to correct the original story by Mr Gilligan, with an attack on the BBC’s independence.”
