Change likely at the BBC

By Torin Douglas BBC media correspondent

What consequences will Lord Hutton's report have for the BBC?

Long before Lord Hutton completed his report, it became clear there would be changes in the way the BBC handles its journalism as a result of the events leading up to the death of Dr David Kelly.

The inquiry raised serious questions about the corporation's editorial and complaints procedures.

Indeed, the first acknowledgment that changes were needed came almost a fortnight before the scientist's death.

On Sunday 6 July last year, the BBC's chairman Gavyn Davies called a special meeting of its board of governors to discuss Alastair Campbell's allegations of bias in the BBC's overall Iraq war coverage and, specifically, Andrew Gilligan's Today report about the government's intelligence dossier.

Afterwards, Mr Davies issued a statement, saying the board supported the decision to broadcast the Gilligan story but also intended to review the rules under which BBC journalists were allowed to write for newspapers.

It was Gilligan's article in the Mail on Sunday, naming Mr Campbell as the person who had ordered the "sexing up" of the dossier, that - in a famous phrase - gave the story "booster rockets".

Impartiality is an essential element to the BBC's reputation and to our journalism Richard Sambrook BBC Director of News

The BBC has now banned its main presenters from writing columns on contentious issues, which will remove, among others, John Humphrys from the Sunday Times, and Jeff Randall from the Sunday Telegraph.

Its director of news Richard Sambrook explained: "Impartiality is an essential element to the BBC's reputation and to our journalism.

"When our journalists write in papers it is seen as an extension of their work for the BBC... The audience's trust in the independence of the BBC's journalism on all subjects is something we cannot afford to compromise."

Since then, that principle has been highlighted by Robert Kilroy-Silk's contentious remarks about Arabs in the Sunday Express.

He has now stepped down as presenter of his daytime talk show Kilroy.

Robust investigation

The BBC has also announced it is strengthening its complaints process and the editorial procedures designed to ensure programmes comply with its guidelines.

Both had been criticised by some of those giving evidence to Lord Hutton.

The head of the BBC World Service, Mark Byford, has been promoted to deputy director general and put in charge of both complaints and compliance procedures.

Reporting to him will be a new controller of complaints, heading an enlarged department, and the controller of editorial policy, whose department already deals with programmes before they are broadcast.

But senior figures have made it clear they do not believe the BBC should withdraw from investigative journalism, as some people - including more than one BBC governor - have suggested.

They say one reason for these changes is to ensure such investigations are as robust as possible.

Dr Kelly's death may mean criticism for the BBC

Other changes in the pipeline could change the way programmes such as Today and networks like Radio 5 Live and News 24 go about their business, particularly in their live coverage.

In his evidence to Lord Hutton, the BBC director general Greg Dyke acknowledged there were "lessons to be learned".

He said senior BBC lawyers and editorial figures were reviewing the producer guidelines, particularly concerning the use of anonymous sources and how they are described in broadcasts.

Dr Kelly had spoken to Gilligan and other BBC journalists on the assurance of anonymity.

Before his name was revealed, one of the key issues in the row with the government was whether the BBC story had come from a "senior intelligence source", as was sometimes stated.

'Slip of the tongue'

Mr Dyke said he had also asked them to consider whether in future all controversial reports should be scripted, instead of being discussed by the reporter and the presenter in what broadcasters call a "two-way" interview.

That was how Today first broke the dossier story, in a discussion between Gilligan and Humphrys at the early hour of 0607 BST.

In his evidence, Gilligan said he'd made "a slip of the tongue" in that broadcast and regretted giving the impression he thought the Government had lied.

"It was not intentional" he said.

"It is something that does happen in live broadcasts, an occupational hazard. It would have been better to have scripted this one."

Many in the BBC and outside will feel that is an understatement.

Whether all such two-ways will have to be scripted in future - and what other editorial changes must be made - will depend on exactly what Lord Hutton says about the BBC.