LONDON, 30 January 2004 — British Broadcasting Corporation chief Greg Dyke resigned yesterday, the second top BBC official to step down after a judicial inquiry harshly criticized the broadcaster’s journalistic standards.
On Wednesday, senior judge Lord Hutton criticized the 81-year-old network for an “unfounded” report it broadcast last year accusing the government of “sexing up” a prewar dossier about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction with information it knew was wrong.
Gavyn Davies, the chairman of the BBC’s board of governors, resigned Wednesday — the first time a top executive at the broadcaster has stepped down in a dispute over reporting. Davies oversaw the board, but was not involved in the day to day running of the network.
The BBC governors also appeared to bow to pressure from Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office, issuing an apology following an emergency meeting to discuss the findings of the Hutton inquiry.
Lord Ryder, acting chairman of the BBC board of governors, said the network had to confront “serious defects in the corporation’s processes and procedures. On behalf of the BBC, I have no hesitation in apologizing for our errors, and to the individuals whose reputations were affected by them.”
Blair accepted the apology, saying it was “all I ever wanted.”
“I think what this does now is allow us to draw a line and move on,” Blair said.
But scores of BBC employees soon walked out of the corporation’s two main London offices and demonstrated on the street outside. Some carried signs saying “Bring Back Greg” to demand Dyke’s reinstatement.
“I’m totally shocked and devastated, just like the majority of staff in the BBC,” said protester Harry Matharu, 42, who works in the technology department at the network’s Broadcasting House.
“Greg has done more for the BBC than anyone else... I think it’s a major tragedy for the BBC that he’s gone, and I don’t think Greg and Gavyn should have resigned.”
