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LONDON, Jan 28: A British inquiry into the death of Iraq weapons expert David Kelly lambasted the BBC on Wednesday, dealing a setback to the venerable public broadcaster on the eve of a review of its charter.
Prime Minister Tony Blair surprisingly came out unscathed, clearing the second hurdle of his toughest week in power as the report said the premier bore no blame for the suicide of David Kelly. On Tuesday, the premier narrowly averted defeat at the hands of his restive Labour Party over university fees, a key plank of domestic policy.
The chairman of BBC's board of governors, Gavyn Davies, tendered his resignation after the release of the report and the broadcaster apologized for some of its stories before the invasion of Iraq.
Dr Kelly's suicide put a human face on a war policy that pitted Mr Blair against most voters. His death last year in a deserted field was an act that Hutton said nobody could have predicted.
The report by Lord Hutton singled out journalist Andrew Gilligan, the BBC's management and its supervisory board of governors, saying a radio report that the government had "sexed up" intelligence in a dossier on Iraqi weapons programmes was unfounded.
The BBC's editorial system was "defective" in allowing Mr Gilligan's report to air, Lord Hutton said, and the governors should have investigated the report in the aftermath, during which Dr Kelly was unmasked as the journalist's source and committed suicide.
The National Union of Journalists, representing Andrew Gilligan, said the BBC could face a strike if he was disciplined or fired. The NUJ said the Hutton report was "selective, grossly one-sided and a serious threat to the future of investigative journalism".
Lord Hutton's findings will strengthen BBC critics who say the broadcaster should fall under the oversight of media regulator Ofcom. Conservative leader Michael Howard said the case for outside regulation of the BBC "has never been stronger".
The broadcaster's feud with Prime Minister Tony Blair's government comes as the publicly funded broadcaster is about to undergo a parliamentary review of its charter, and at a time when the mandatory licence fee that provides most of its funding is under fire from the private sector.
"The obvious implication is that the BBC's governance structure will come under the spotlight," said Damian Tambini, a media law expert at Oxford University. "People are already starting to ask questions about whether such a powerful institution should govern itself."
The BBC made pre-emptive reforms ahead of the Hutton report's release. Last month, it appointed an executive to oversee complaints and compliance, and tightened rules about its journalists writing for outside publications.
NO UNDERHAND STRATEGY: Summing up the inquiry that has dominated British politics for months, Lord Hutton said he was satisfied "there was no underhand strategy" by Mr Blair's colleagues in the outing of scientist David Kelly.
"I do not consider there was any plan or strategy for the prime minister and the officials at 10 Downing Street to bring this (leak of his name) about," the judge said. "There was not a dishonourable or underhand or duplicitous strategy on the part of the prime minister..."
Mr Blair had this to say: "The allegation that I or anyone else lied to this House or deliberately misled the country by falsifying intelligence on WMD is itself the real lie." .
Sterling, which has wobbled along with Mr Blair's authority, pushed broadly higher on news of the government's reprieve. Mr Blair, who won office in 1997 promising "things can only get better", can now claim to have survived his worst challenge in six years - albeit at a steep cost.
TWO FIGHTS WON, POPULARITY LOST: "Blair clearly has been exonerated. But the question of WMD is still with him," Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University said. "The debate about the Iraq war is still going to be with him. The argument inside the Labour Party about the reform of public services is still going to be with him, the rebellious nature of his MPs is still going to be with him.
"And the government is less popular than it was." Since the centrist 50-year-old was elected by a landslide, he has seen his authority diminished and ratings plunge. Facing disquiet in his party and country at large, Mr Blair must mount an aggressive comeback before the next election, expected next year, to regain his Midas touch at the polls.
Most Britons remain sceptical over his decision to support the US invasion of Iraq and the persistent failure of inspectors to find the banned weapons that were used to justify the attack.
Nor are his own team all on side. Rebels in the centre-left Labour party are determined to keep up the pressure after Tony Blair only narrowly survived Tuesday's 316-311 vote on education.
The win may prove pyrrhic for a man with a 161-seat majority, as emboldened rebels are now vowing renewed assaults over everything from asylum policy to parliamentary reform. -Reuters
