GREG DYKE AND NOT ACCEPTABLE E-MAILING

Early day motion 1693, tabled 16 September 2003 by Gerald Kaufman (Labour). Signed by 5 members.

That this House notes that at the Hutton inquiry on 15th September, Mr Greg Dyke, Director-General of the BBC, described e-mailing of honourable Members of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee by Mr Andrew Gilligan as 'not acceptable'; further notes that Mr Gilligan kept Mr Richard Sambrook, Head of News, Mr Mark Damazer, Deputy Director of News, and Mr Kevin Marsh, Editor of the Today Programme, informed of his e-mailing activities, for example, 'Spoke to Ottaway again and he's happy' and that accordingly Mr Sambrook, Mr Damazer and Mr Marsh colluded with Mr Gilligan in an activity which Mr Dyke describes as 'not acceptable'; further notes that Mr Dyke was so slack in carrying out his duties as Editor-in-Chief at the BBC that he let several weeks go by before making the most elementary enquiries about this general state of affairs; regards it as deplorable if Mr Gilligan, whatever his misdeeds, were made the fall-guy for activities in which Mr Sambrook, Mr Damazer and Mr Marsh were collusive and Mr Dyke was negligent; and believes that only resignations and dismissals at every level of the BBC can have any effect in restoring the BBC's tarnished reputation for reputable and reliable news-gathering.

Signatures by party: Labour 5.