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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Leveson Inquiry: BBC 'has not hacked phones' | Leveson Inquiry: BBC 'has not hacked phones' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| There is "no evidence whatsoever" any BBC journalist has hacked a telephone, the BBC's director general has said. | |
| At the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics, Mark Thompson said he had heard no "rumour or whisper or suggestion" BBC journalists had ever hacked phones. | |
| Also appearing in London, BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten said politicians had grown too close to the newspapers. | |
| They had been "kidded ... that editors and proprietors determine the fate of politicians", Lord Patten said. | |
| Highest standards | Highest standards |
| Mr Thompson said he had ordered a wide-ranging review of issues including whether staff at the BBC had engaged in phone hacking, made improper payments to police and any use of private investigators, in the wake of the emergence of phone hacking at the News of the World newspaper. | |
| Appearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday morning, Mr Thompson described this review as "necessary and appropriate". | |
| He added: "The BBC is not a business and it might well be that someone running a media business might take a different view from the view that I took as director general of the BBC. | He added: "The BBC is not a business and it might well be that someone running a media business might take a different view from the view that I took as director general of the BBC. |
| "The BBC is a public service broadcaster. It is committed to be the most trusted, trustworthy source of news in the world and we want to maintain the highest possible standards in all matters, including matters relating to privacy." | "The BBC is a public service broadcaster. It is committed to be the most trusted, trustworthy source of news in the world and we want to maintain the highest possible standards in all matters, including matters relating to privacy." |
| "It being undetermined how widespread some of these issues have been in the media, I think it was prudent to look at whether the BBC could, in its journalism and journalistic practice, hold its head up and say actually, we don't do these things." | "It being undetermined how widespread some of these issues have been in the media, I think it was prudent to look at whether the BBC could, in its journalism and journalistic practice, hold its head up and say actually, we don't do these things." |
| Mr Thompson said the BBC had not made any improper payments to police officers. | Mr Thompson said the BBC had not made any improper payments to police officers. |
| He explained that when police officers appeared on the Crimewatch television programme, they were sometimes given a "very small payment" as contributors. | He explained that when police officers appeared on the Crimewatch television programme, they were sometimes given a "very small payment" as contributors. |
| The director general also said private investigators were sometimes used by BBC for "security and surveillance services as a whole". | The director general also said private investigators were sometimes used by BBC for "security and surveillance services as a whole". |
| Investigators had also occasionally been used to find people featured in BBC content, so they could be given a right of reply, he added. | Investigators had also occasionally been used to find people featured in BBC content, so they could be given a right of reply, he added. |
| The inquiry heard that between January 2005 and July 2011, the BBC spent £310,000 on 232 instances when private investigators were used - of which news accounted for 43 occasions, at a cost of £174,500, with the rest for TV programmes. | The inquiry heard that between January 2005 and July 2011, the BBC spent £310,000 on 232 instances when private investigators were used - of which news accounted for 43 occasions, at a cost of £174,500, with the rest for TV programmes. |
| Mr Thompson was asked about an occasion when the BBC hired a private investigator to discover the owner of a car through its number plate. | Mr Thompson was asked about an occasion when the BBC hired a private investigator to discover the owner of a car through its number plate. |
| He said that at the time of the investigation "many organisations had access to DVLA information," including private investigators, and that the inquiries made were in the public interest. | He said that at the time of the investigation "many organisations had access to DVLA information," including private investigators, and that the inquiries made were in the public interest. |
| 'Grovelling' | |
| Appearing after the director general, BBC trust chairman Mr Patten - also a former Conservative Party chairman - told the hearing that recent decades had seen politicians get "closer to editors and journalists … and not always to their advantage or benefit - indeed very often the reverse". | |
| Lord Patten said that he was "in favour of talking to editors and journalists, but I am not in favour of grovelling". | |
| "I think the major political parties, and particularly their leaders, over the last 20 or 25 years have often demeaned themselves by the extent to which they have paid court to proprietors and editors," he said. | |
| "I think that politicians have allowed themselves to be kidded by editors and proprietors that editors and proprietors determine the fate of politicians. | |
| "I think that there is plenty of evidence that in some cases, particularly News International newspapers, will back the party that is going to win an election - so they give you what you don't need in return for more than a great deal of faith." | |
| He went on: "I think that politicians in office, or for that matter some of them out of office, would sleep better at night and make better decisions if they weren't quite as affected by the front pages of the newspapers." | |
| 'It's there forever' | 'It's there forever' |
| Questioned about the truth and accuracy of its journalism, Mr Thompson said that the BBC put those ahead of speed in its editorial guidelines. | Questioned about the truth and accuracy of its journalism, Mr Thompson said that the BBC put those ahead of speed in its editorial guidelines. |
| "We would rather be right than first," he said. "Frankly, where we can, we would like to be right and first. But [if] we have to choose, we would rather be right than first." | "We would rather be right than first," he said. "Frankly, where we can, we would like to be right and first. But [if] we have to choose, we would rather be right than first." |
| He added: "Research with the British public suggests the public have got uniquely high expectations of the BBC. In other words, the standard to which the BBC is held by the public is higher than for any other medium." | He added: "Research with the British public suggests the public have got uniquely high expectations of the BBC. In other words, the standard to which the BBC is held by the public is higher than for any other medium." |
| Mr Thompson also told the hearing that delivering online news was "no less demanding ... and in some ways more so" than for TV and radio outlets. | Mr Thompson also told the hearing that delivering online news was "no less demanding ... and in some ways more so" than for TV and radio outlets. |
| "One of the issues for the BBC and other news organisations is that once you put something on the web it's there forever," he said. | "One of the issues for the BBC and other news organisations is that once you put something on the web it's there forever," he said. |
| Regulation | Regulation |
| Mr Thompson warned of a danger that the phone-hacking scandal might result in a perception that all tabloid journalism was "bad or dishonest". | Mr Thompson warned of a danger that the phone-hacking scandal might result in a perception that all tabloid journalism was "bad or dishonest". |
| "That simply isn't the case, and I think that trying to keep objectivity about the range of journalism and about the quality of much of our newspaper journalism is an important part of the story as well," he said. | "That simply isn't the case, and I think that trying to keep objectivity about the range of journalism and about the quality of much of our newspaper journalism is an important part of the story as well," he said. |
| The BBC's director general echoed comments to the inquiry last week by Times editor James Harding, who expressed fears that any new law underpinning press regulation could later be tightened to suppress newspapers. | The BBC's director general echoed comments to the inquiry last week by Times editor James Harding, who expressed fears that any new law underpinning press regulation could later be tightened to suppress newspapers. |
| "I think that this country in the end has benefited from having a range of media which are funded differently, constituted differently and have different objectives," Mr Thompson said. | "I think that this country in the end has benefited from having a range of media which are funded differently, constituted differently and have different objectives," Mr Thompson said. |
| "Historically the BBC has argued against a statutory foundation, preferring instead the idea of royal charters given over 10-year periods, precisely to stop the risk of political change to its constitution in mid-flight." | "Historically the BBC has argued against a statutory foundation, preferring instead the idea of royal charters given over 10-year periods, precisely to stop the risk of political change to its constitution in mid-flight." |