BBC boss takes stand at inquiry

BBC director general Greg Dyke has taken the stand at the Hutton Inquiry.

He told the inquiry he had been director general of the corporation since February 2000 and started in television at the age of 30.

Mr Dyke described himself as "editor in chief" and said he had to "oversee the editorial standards of the BBC on radio, television and online".

He said it was also his role to maintain at an operational level "independence from Government and other vested interests".

Mr Dyke added: "My job is also involved in ensuring that the major matters, particularly those with a strategic or significant budgetary dimension, or which are particularly controversial, are brought to the attention of the chairman or the governors as a whole."

Mr Dyke gave a description of the BBC's management structure, saying it employed 27,000 people and that its head of news, Richard Sambrook, was one of 16 people who reported directly to him.

He said news was "a highly pressurised world" and that part of his job was to ensure that journalists followed the corporation's procedures and guidelines.

He said the BBC had a role at times of war to put information into the public domain and said it had to be "performed carefully and responsibly".

He said: "At times of war, governments put pressure on the BBC to publicise the line they wish the public to understand in terms of war and I think this has happened ever since Suez."

Lord Hutton asked about the circumstances in which an apology would be issued, querying whether it could happen without a formal complaint being made.

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