Gavyn Davies

From : Gavyn Davies

Sent: 14 July 2003 08 30
To : HOGG, Baroness'
Subject: RE: BBC Chairman's Weekly E-mail

Sarah - Very many thanks for your remarks -- they mean a lot to me However, I do not think we are by any
means out of the woods yet - .Alastair is a very determined man, and the mood could yet cnange See you on
Weds Gavyn

-----Original Message-----
From : HOGG, Baroness [ma i!to:HoggS@parliament. .ik]
Sent: 13 July 2003 21:35
To : Gavyn Davies
Subject : RE : BBC Chairman's Weekly E-mail

Dear Gavyn,
Many congratulations on your handling A defining moment As you say, lots of pitfalls ahead, but
thank God we have you to watch out for them Wnat's more, Greg seems to have realised that too Ail
the best, Sarah .

-----Original Message-----
From: Gavyn Davies [mailto :gavyn .daviesc)bbc .co.uk]
Sent: 13 JLly 2003 10 :22
To: ryder~aparliament .uk; zzrabian Monds-PRIVATE ; irene .adams@weir .co.uk;
gji50@dial .pipex,com ; ranjit .s@ukonline .co.uk; hoags@parliament .uk ;
dgleeson'`lmigleeson .com; zzDermot Gleeson ; zzDame Paufine Neville-Jones ; Ruth Deech-
INTERNET; ange(a .sarkis,'~a)btmternet .com; Simon Milner-SEC; Catherine East; Helen Tuniey;
r.m .jons@bangor.ac .uk
Subject : BBC Chairman's Weekly E-mail

Dear Govemors

I am sure that all of us have sensed this week that we have public opinion on cur side following
the statement which we released last Sunday . There is a very real feeling - even among those
normally hostile to the BBC - that the Governors stood up for the right principles on Sunday, and
many people have said to me that this episode has snown why the UK neecs the BBC, and why
the BBC needs the Governors . I think we timed our intervention correctly, and it has been much
appreciated oy management Greg has spent the week saying that the Governors' intervention
was the turning point in the row with Alastair Campbell, and that this would have been totally
imoossible under Ofcom

However, the episode is not yet closed Far from d Alastair Campbell has withdrawn his
allegation of generalised bias against the BBC's war coverage, which m my mind was always
the most objectionable cntic~sm in h,s FAC evidence This is all to the good However, the
ceaseless efforts of the government's communications machine to challenge and alsioredit the
Andrew Gilligan story continue apace

The government has now unv_=ile~_ David Kelly as tne mari wnom they believe is the source of
the Gilligan s:ory I do not k :)cw if this is true, and BBC News has refused to make any comment
on the claim Mr Kelly is likely to give evidence to tlhe FAC on Tuesday, so we may learn more
about h,m then

We are also giving evidence on Tuesday to the DCMS Committee on Tuesday I shall do my
best to stick to the line taken in the Governors' statement - ie that we are -10: cnallenging the!
Prime Minister's integrity, but we believe that the Gill,gan and Watts stories were in line with

2110712003 ~~C`,4 y~`3Z too

 BBC guidelines and were m the public interest I am sure Greg and Richard will be questioned in
detail acout the source, and will probably decline :o comment.

We will no doubt wish to review the situation regarding the dossier row at our Private Session on
Wednesday We will a;so be discussing the 'a`.est draft of the paper on Char:er Review, which I
think will help us prepare for dinner with Tessa Joweli later that evening . .

See you all then,

Gavyn

BBCi at http ://www .bbc .co .uk/

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2U07/2003 1oG2