"BBC Management is almost in meltdown at the moment"

DailAblution ^ | 01/28/04 | Scott Burgess

[Pikamax]

January 28, 2004 BBC Management "Almost in Meltdown" Lord Hutton's report into the death of Dr. David Kelly, released this afternoon, has almost completely vindicated Tony Blair and the government, at the same time severely criticising the BBC's reporting and governance.

This is a huge story. Most observers were expecting blame to be apportioned evenly, and the one-sided castigation of the Corporation has come as a big surprise.

The Guardian reports that:

"BBC chairman Gavyn Davies is said to be considering his position after Lord Hutton criticised the BBC in his long awaited report into the death of weapons expert David Kelly. The corporation has flatly denied rumours sweeping Westminster that he has resigned, but one senior insider said the mood at the BBC was 'very grim'." Expect resignations and rolling heads.

Here are some quotes, gathered this afternoon from the radio and the web. More to follow.

"In the end what it comes down to is a judgement by Lord Hutton - who he believes, whose motives he trusts most and in that, again and again, he comes down on the side of politicians and officials, who by and large he believes and whose story, whose narrative he accepts and he comes down against Andrew Gilligan, and journalism, I have to say generally, and against the BBC." BBC Political editor Andrew Marr

The BBC has been "drenched in disgrace and incompetence." Former Defence Minister Lord Gilbert - on The World at One, BBC Radio4

"A grim day for the BBC." BBC Radio 4 2pm News

"Completely unprecedented in the criticism of the BBC Governors' performance of their duty." BBC correspondent Richard Ayers - on BBC Five Live

"The [BBC] Management is almost in meltdown at the moment" Mark Mardell, BBC Chief Political Correspondent - on Radio 4

"Tony Blair couldn't have hoped for anything better." Mark Mardell

"There is no doubt the government has been cleared. Everyone from the prime minister down virtually is cleared of any misbehaviour." Correspondent Jane Peel

BBC Management is expected to reply soon. Stay tuned.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

"Tony Blair couldn't have hoped for anything better." Mark Mardell

How sweet it is !!!

Wonder what impact this will have on the political games going on in the good ole USA?

[Keith]

Freepers have been very aware of the incredible liberal bias on the Beeb for the last several years...the chickens are coming home to roost.

Would Lord Hutton care to come to the colonies and straighten out CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN?

[Prodigal Son]

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC- Gavyn Davies- just resigned.

Live feed on the BBC front page:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

[BigWaveBetty]

If only this would make the Beeb go Buh-bye.

[ladtx]

Wonder what impact this will have on the political games going on in the good ole USA?

Somehow this will be all Bush's fault.

[tiamat]

If he'd just straighten out the New Yotk Times, I'd pay for his airfare!

Tia

[Grampa Dave]

I bet that if we could follow the bribery oil money that flowed from the $oddomite for the last decade, many of the top rats in BBC got a large share.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1066436/posts

Anti-War Nations 'Took Bribes' Before War Began
Independent (UK) ^ | 1-28-2004 | Anne Penketh


Posted on 01/27/2004 5:16:07 PM PST by blam


Anti-war nations 'took bribes' before war began

Investigation launched into claims that Saddam Hussein used oil to win support around the world

By Anne Penketh
28 January 2004


Claims that dozens of politicians, including some from prominent anti-war countries such as France, had taken bribes to support Saddam Hussein are to be investigated by the Iraqi authorities. The US-backed Iraqi Governing Council decided to check after an independent Baghdad newspaper, al-Mada, published a list which it said was based on oil ministry documents.

The 46 individuals, companies and organisations inside and outside Iraq were given millions of barrels of oil, the documents show. Thousands of papers were looted from the State Oil Marketing Organisation after Baghdad fell to US forces on 9 April.

"I think the list is true," Naseer Chaderji, a Governing Council member, said. "I will demand an investigation. These people must be prosecuted." Rumours had circulated for months that documents implicating senior French individuals were about to surface. Such evidence would undermine the French position before the war when President Jacques Chirac staked out the moral high ground in opposing the invasion.

A senior Bush administration official said Washington was aware of the reports but refused further comment. Another US source said that incriminating oil ministry documents allegedly implicating France concerned the two-year period before the war, when the UN sanctions were in danger of collapse.

French diplomats have dismissed any suggestion that their foreign policy was influenced by payments from Saddam. The French have always insisted their anti-war stance did not mean support for Saddam. But British diplomats suspected France's steadfast opposition to the war was driven by something other than the reasons stated by President Chirac. "Oil runs thicker than blood," is how one former ambassador put his suspicions about the French motives for opposing action against Saddam.

The list quoted by al-Mada included members of Arab ruling families, religious organisations, politicians and political parties from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Sudan, China, Austria, France and other countries. But no names were available last night.

Organisations named include the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Communist Party, India's Congress Party and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The United States and Britain launched the war on Iraq on 19 March, 2003 without UN approval after tense negotiations in the Security Council collapsed in the face of a veto threat from France. France's relations with Britain and the US deteriorated to their worst point in decades over the Iraq rift, and have yet to heal.

China, another Security Council permanent member with veto power which is named by al-Mada, was also opposed to the Iraq invasion. Arab countries, in addition to France, had warned of the risk of instability spreading throughout the Middle East as a result of the war. Turkey, a Nato member, was a crucial player because of the opposition to the war among its Muslim majority population. There is the possibility that the documents in al-Mada are forgeries. At present there is almost a war of documents under way as Iraqis come to the realisation that they could be used as blackmail or as a settling of scores. And the leak of the documents could be a manipulation by the US-backed authorities in Iraq to discredit France.

The Iraqi authorities will be keen to interview prominent Iraqi officials held by the Coalition Provisional Authority who could shed light on illegal payments. Those officials include the former oil minister, Amer Mohammed Rashid. Assem Jihad, an oil ministry spokesman, said the documents stolen from his ministry may prove Saddam used bribery to gain support. "Anyone stealing Iraqi wealth will be prosecuted," he said.

Although under sanctions from the 1990 invasion of Kuwait until after the second Gulf War, the Iraqi government could sell oil under a UN agreement that proceeds from the oil sales be used to buy food, medicine and basic supplies.

Some international companies selling goods to Iraq may have paid commissions to Iraqi officials that were deposited in Arab banks in exchange for contracts under the oil for food deal. A paper trail should exist.

Saddam smuggled out billions of dollars worth of oil through Turkey, a Syrian pipeline and Iranian coastal waters. The Americans turned a blind eye to the smuggling via Turkey, because they needed to keep their Nato ally on board.

---

Maybe the formerly super Rich Wardaddy Uncle $oddomite has been talking or his briefcase had a lot of good data re bribery for our side.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

The 46 individuals, companies and organisations inside and outside Iraq were given millions of barrels of oil, the documents show. Thousands of papers were looted from the State Oil Marketing Organisation after Baghdad fell to US forces on 9 April.

Finally I understand the weenies' chant: "No war for oil" was a deal proposition

[Grampa Dave]

Hopefully, someone with data re the flow of illegal oil $'s from Uncle $oddomite to ABCNNBC BS will have a closed door meeting with the board members of the companies who control these liars. (Jimmy Baker, do still have what was in Uncle $oddomite's briefcase, handy for a trip to Atlanta, NYC and LA?)

If we see a lot of CNN and execs from the other lying news organizations resigning to spend time for their families, we will know the reason why.

[Grampa Dave]

Hopefully, someone with data re the flow of illegal oil $'s from Uncle $oddomite to ABCNNBC BS will have a closed door meeting with the board members of the companies who control these liars. (Jimmy Baker, do still have what was in Uncle $oddomite's briefcase, handy for a trip to Atlanta, NYC and LA?)

If we see a lot of CNN and execs from the other lying news organizations resigning to spend time for their families, we will know the reason why.

[DannyTN]

Forgive the lack of knowledge of UK politics, but who is Lord Hutton? Why does he have so much credibility that his report vindicates Blair and the government and is accepted as fair criticism of BBC? Don't get me wrong, I realize BBC has a very liberal bias and this is great news. But Blair can say the government did right and BBC is wrong and nobody but his own party listens, Hutton speaks and everybody listens. That's why the question.

[Grampa Dave]

You may have cracked the code on all those bumper stickers all over America which magically appeared before the Iraqi war started.

You posted: Finally I understand the weenies' chant: "No war for oil" was a deal proposition!

You might want to save this comment for use on your home page.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Would Lord Hutton care to come to the colonies and straighten out CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN?"

Don't forget to add the NYT, WP, and LAT (and almost every other major urban newspaper) to that list.

[isom35]

I was thinking Blair=Clinton, Hutton=Starr, Kelly=Vince Foster.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

A whole new chapter is opening from the contents of Saddams briefcase!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I'm seeing on other threads that the BBC Chairman is resigning. I'll look for a source.

[Pikamax]

I found this on him.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3386243.stm



Lord Hutton retires as Law Lord


Lord Hutton's report into the death of David Kelly is due this month
Lord Hutton, whose report into the death of weapons expert David Kelly will be published soon, is officially retiring as a Law Lord on Sunday.
The 72-year-old peer had announced his intention to resign to Senior Law Lord, Lord Bingham, some months before the six-week Hutton Inquiry began.

His retirement will not affect his work in writing the report inquiry.

Lord Hutton's other high profile cases included those involving General Pinochet and rebel spy David Shayler.

But, despite 10 years as Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland and a legal career stretching back to the 1950s, it is the Hutton Inquiry for which the peer will probably be most remembered.

'Sexed up' claims

It centres around the death of former UN weapons inspector David Kelly who was found dead at an Oxfordshire beauty spot near his home in July 2003, just days after he appeared before the Commons foreign affairs select committee.

Dr Kelly apparently committed suicide shortly after being named as the suspected source for Andrew Gilligan's BBC report claiming the government "sexed up" a dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Lord Hutton was called to the bar in his homeland of Northern Ireland in 1954 and by 1970 was a QC, before being called to the bar in England soon afterwards.

He became a High Court judge for Northern Ireland in 1979, cutting his teeth as a judge in the 1970s at the height of the Troubles.

Several fellow judges were murdered and his own name was later found on an IRA hit list.

High-profile cases

Lord Hutton, who enjoyed a reputation for independence and fairness throughout his career, became an English Lord of Appeal - sitting in the Lords and hearing final appeals - in 1997.

He was one of the law lords who criticised Lord Hoffman for his role in the extradition proceedings against General Augusto Pinochet.

LORD HUTTON'S CAREER
1954 Admitted to the bar
1979 High Court judge
1988 Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice
1997 English Lord of Appeal
Lord Hoffman had contributed to a decision that the former Chilean leader could be arrested and extradited for crimes against humanity without emphasising his own links to human rights group Amnesty International.

Lord Hutton said "public confidence in the integrity of the administration of justice would be shaken" if Lord Hoffman's ruling was not overturned.

The law lord was also involved in the ruling that David Shayler, the former MI5 agent, could not argue he was acting in the public interest by revealing secrets.

BBC political correspondent John Andrew said it is ironic that the report Lord Hutton will be best remembered for will be published in his retirement.

Whatever his findings, the inquiry has already made history by its openness and revelations about the workings of inner government, he added.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Here it is;

BBC chairman to quit over Hutton

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3434661.stm

[GladesGuru]

IF he could fix the Slimes, he wouldn't need a ticket because among the lesser of his talents would be the ability to walk on water.