No dossier punishment for BBC - Jowell

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has insisted that there was "no question whatsoever" of the Government threatening to punish the BBC for its reporting of the Iraq dossier row.

BBC chairman Gavyn Davies today accused ministers of "political bullying" in an outspoken newspaper article claiming the Government was putting the corporation's independence under threat.

Ms Jowell responded by pledging that the Government would "uphold completely" the BBC's independence.

The spat over Radio 4 correspondent Andrew Gilligan's reports would have no bearing on her consideration of the BBC's charter and licence fee later this year, she insisted.

Mr Davies and the BBC's board of governors have come under fire from a series of Government ministers over their robust support for Mr Gilligan, who reported that intelligence officers were unhappy with the handling of material about Iraq's supposed WMD capability.

Leader of the Commons Peter Hain today added his voice to the attacks, accusing the BBC of behaving like a tabloid newspaper in the hope of causing embarrassment to the Government.

Ms Jowell said on Friday she would "consider very carefully" any recommendations from the Hutton inquiry into the death of Government scientist David Kelly when making a decision later this year on the BBC's 2006 licence renewal.

Mr Davies raised concerns about speculation that the Government was considering scrapping the BBC's independent board of governors and handing over its powers to the new media regulatory body Ofcom.

He told the Sunday Telegraph: "Our integrity is under attack and we are chastised for taking a different view on editorial matters from that of the Government and its supporters.

"Because we have had the temerity to do this, it is hinted that a system that has protected the BBC for 80 years should be swept away and replaced by an external regulator that will 'bring the BBC to heel'. There is only one reason why the BBC has been able to build the trust of its audiences over so many years and that is because it is emphatically not the voice of the state."

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