Hutton Inquiry

The Hutton Inquiry was a British judicial inquiry chaired by Lord Hutton, appointed by the British government to investigate the death of a government weapons expert, Dr. David Kelly. The inquiry opened in August 2003 and reported on January 28, 2004. Its terms of reference were to "urgently conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Kelly".

Media reaction to the report

Several national newspapers judged the report to be so uncritical of the Government that they accused Hutton of participating in an "establishment whitewash". The right-wing Daily Mail wrote in its editorial "We're faced with the wretched spectacle of the BBC chairman resigning while Alastair Campbell crows from the summit of his dunghill. Does this verdict, my lord, serve the real interest of truth?". The Independent included a large, mostly empty, white space above the fold on its front page containing just the word "whitewash?" in small red type.

Related Topics:
Daily Mail - Alastair Campbell - The Independent

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Daily Express headline read "Hutton's whitewash leaves questions unanswered" — referring to the fact that an investigation into Britain's reasons for joining the war in Iraq was beyond the scope of the inquiry. None of the newspapers presented evidence of a cover-up, but they questioned whether the conclusions were supported by the evidence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other newspapers such as The Times, The Sun (both owned by News Corporation and usually critical of the BBC) and The Daily Telegraph concentrated on the behaviour of the BBC criticised in the report and called for Greg Dyke to resign, as he did later that day (January 29).

Related Topics:
The Times - The Sun - News Corporation - The Daily Telegraph - January 29

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In assessing the media response to the Hutton report, it needs to be remembered that most British newspapers are highly partisan in their editorial policies. The reactions of papers supportive of the Conservative Party, such as The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph, in part reflected the Conservatives' disappointment that the report did not find that Blair had misled the House of Commons or the public, which might have precipitated his resignation.

Related Topics:
Conservative Party - The Daily Mail - The Daily Telegraph - House of Commons

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the other hand, left-wing newspapers such as The Guardian and The Daily Mirror, while supporting Blair against the Conservatives, strongly opposed British participation in the war in Iraq, and sympathised with what they (and many others) saw as the anti-war stance of BBC journalists such as Gilligan. While they probably did not want Blair forced from office, they would have welcomed a finding that Alastair Campbell had falsified the September Dossier.

Related Topics:
The Guardian - The Daily Mirror - Alastair Campbell

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Martin Kettle wrote in The Guardian on February 3: "Too many newspapers invested too heavily in a particular preferred outcome on these key points. They wanted the government found guilty on the dossier and on the naming, and they wanted Gilligan's reporting vindicated. When Hutton drew opposite conclusions, they damned his findings as perverse and his report as a whitewash. But the report's weakness was its narrowness, and to some extent its unworldliness, not the accuracy of its verdicts."

Related Topics:
Martin Kettle - February 3

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thousands of BBC workers paid for a full-page advertisement in The Daily Telegraph on January 31 in order to publish a message of support for Dyke, followed by a list of their names. The message read:

Related Topics:
The Daily Telegraph - January 31

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:The following statement is from BBC employees, presenters, reporters and contributors. It was paid for by them personally, not the BBC itself.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Greg Dyke stood for brave, independent BBC journalism that was fearless in its search for the truth. We are resolute that the BBC should not step back from its determination to investigate the facts in pursuit of the truth. Through his passion and integrity Greg Dyke inspired us to make programmes of the highest quality and creativity. We are dismayed by Greg's departure, but we are determined to maintain his achievements and his vision for an independent organisation that serves the public above all else.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An ICM public opinion poll, commissioned by the News of the World and published on February 1 2004, showed that 54% of respondents believed Tony Blair's reputation had deteriorated. Only 14% thought his status had improved after being vindicated in the report.

Related Topics:
ICM - Opinion poll - News of the World - February 1 - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In some countries the reputation of the BBC in fact improved as a result of its attacks on the British government during the Dr David Kelly affair. The BBC is sometimes viewed, especially outside the UK, as a puppet of the government. The BBC's willingness to accuse the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Defence so publicly of wrongdoing, despite the mistakes the BBC itself acknowledged it had made, boosted its credentials as an impartial and unbiased news source.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hutton himself defended the report, speaking before a Commons select committee on May 14 2004. He stated he had not thought it appropriate to embark on a study of the pre-war intelligence: "I had to draw the line somewhere." He felt the allegations against Gilligan were "far graver" than questions concerning the quality of the intelligence, and that it was right that a separate inquiry, the Butler Review, was being conducted. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Politics/kelly/story/0,13747,1215907,00.html

Related Topics:
May 14 - 2004 - Butler Review

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~