BECTU condemns BBC "cull" as Dyke goes
The union has called for a halt to the wave of BBC resignations that followed the Hutton report.
Regretting the departure of Director-General Greg Dyke, who resigned a day after publication of the report, BECTU praised him as a "popular and dedicated top manager" who had demonstrated a solid commitment to BBC programme-making.
His resignation was "unnecessary" said BECTU, given that the BBC Chairman had already stepped down and apologised for any mistakes made in news reports that preceded the death of scientist David Kelly.
The union accused the government of ignoring the Corporation's long history of independent journalism by demanding management scalps in retribution for the single reporting error identified by Hutton.
BECTU fears that continuing demands for revenge from the Labour government will precipitate a cull of managers throughout the BBC, crippling its independence, and undermining its ability to report news impartially. The union has called for Greg Dyke to be re-instated.
Spontaneous protests by BBC staff came immediately after Dyke's resignation as BECTU and NUJ members congregated outside the Corporation's News HQ in West London, and other buildings across the UK. These immediate demonstrations could be followed by more protests at midday on Thursday February 5 if branch representatives support BECTU's call for the BBC to remain free of government interference.
In addition to its criticism of government for pressuring BBC executives into resigning, BECTU has also called for the selection of a new Chair and Director-General to be "open and transparent", to ensure that the successors to Greg Dyke and Gavyn Davies remain politically independent.
The crisis over Lord Hutton's allegations of sloppy journalism at the BBC echo the showdown more than 15 years ago between Margaret Thatcher's administration and the DG of the day Alistair Milne.
Then, government efforts to suppress "Real Lives", a documentary about terrorists in Northern Ireland, led to an unofficial stoppage by union members that shut the BBC down for an entire day.