Dyke attacks Blair for bullying over Iraq

Published on Sunday 29 August 2004 00:56

THE simmering row between Tony Blair and the BBC threatened to erupt again last night after former Director-General Greg Dyke accused the Prime Minister of bullying broadcasters over coverage of the Iraq war.

Dyke claimed Blair had personally led Downing Street attempts to tone down negative coverage of the attack on Saddam Hussein’s regime.

In an explosive autobiography, Dyke, a former Labour supporter and friend of the Prime Minister’s, reopens the divisive row over the use of intelligence in the run-up to the war. And he points the finger at Blair over his decision to step down reluctantly from his position at the head of the BBC following the publication of the Hutton report into the death of government weapons scientist David Kelly.

In extracts from the book, being serialised in a national newspaper, Dyke reveals that:

• He received a letter from Blair regarding coverage of Iraq on the day the war began, which Dyke characterises as an attempt to "bully" the BBC into toeing the Government line on the conflict.

• He believes Blair reneged on a deal not to call for "heads to roll" at the corporation amid the fall-out from Lord Hutton’s report into Kelly’s suicide.

• He believes Blair forced his own spindoctor, Alastair Campbell, out of Number 10 because he believed his loyal aide was "out of control".

Dyke also says six governors who are still serving on the BBC board should resign over their part in the affair, which began with a contentious report claiming Downing Street had "sexed-up" intelligence reports to bolster the case for war on Saddam.

The book, Inside Story, claims Blair broke a promise to then-BBC chairman Gavyn Davies that he would not demand the resignations of himself or Dyke following the publication of Hutton’s findings. But Davies, along with Dyke, became a casualty within 36 hours of the publication as the controversy descended into point-scoring between Downing St and the men it held responsible for the broadcast.

Meanwhile, journalist Andrew Gilligan last night launched a wide-ranging attack on the BBC governors over their handling of the Kelly affair.

The former reporter for Radio 4’s Today programme told the Edinburgh Television Festival that the governors’ weakness in the face of pressure from the government had "turned a crisis into a disaster".