LONDON, Jan 29: The British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) top executive quit on Thursday after a British judge condemned it for wrongly accusing Tony Blair over the Iraq invasion, but cries of "whitewash" rained down on the prime minister's victory parade.

Mr Blair and the BBC called a truce after the venerable broadcaster apologized "unreservedly" over the Iraq episode, which led to the suicide of weapons expert David Kelly in July.

"This for me has always been a very simple matter of an accusation that was a very serious one that was made. It has now been withdrawn, that is all I ever wanted," Mr Blair said in response to the BBC's apology. "It allows us to draw a line and move on."

On Wednesday, Judge Lord Hutton exonerated the prime minister of wrongdoing over the death of government scientist David Kelly and ruled that the BBC's claim that Mr Blair had "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq was unfounded.

In response, British Broadcasting Corporation Chairman Gavyn Davies quit on Wednesday and Director General Greg Dyke followed him on Thursday in what is being called the gravest crisis in the BBC's 82-year history.

As Mr Dyke resigned, the BBC bowed to the government's demands for a full apology over the affair, which has marked the most perilous period of Mr Blair's six-year premiership.

"I hope that a line can now be drawn under this whole episode," Greg Dyke told reporters outside the BBC's head office. Crowds of BBC employees protested outside BBC Television Centre in London over Lord Hutton's verdict and Mr Dyke's departure.

The prime minister's foes, many commentators and large parts of the public were staggered at the scale of the prime minister's let-off by the judge compared with the censure of the British Broadcasting Corporation.-Reuters