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Hutton Report a "threat to independent journalism"

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Jan 29, IRNA -- Britain`s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) 
Thursday expressed support for BBC defence correspondent Andrew 
Gillian after he was criticised by the Hutton Report on the 
circumstances of the death of Iraq arms inspector David Kelly. 
NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said that blaming the BBC and 
its reporter for the trouble his broadcasting caused the government 
was "a threat to independent journalism." 
The UK`s main journalist union insisted that Gilligan was right to 
pursue his story that suggested the government exaggerated Iraq`s 
arms threats to take the BBC to an industrial tribunal if the BBC 
sacked him. 
His story, sourced on meeting Kelly last May, was in the public 
interest and the Hutton report`s criticism of the journalist and the 
BBC were "unfounded," it said. 
"Whatever Lord Hutton may think, it is clear from the evidence he 
heard that the dossier was `sexed up`, that many in the intelligence 
services were unhappy about it, and that Andrew Gilligan`s story was 
substantially correct," Dear said in a statement. 
He said that Hutton`s findings, which exonerated the government on 
any wrong-doing in its treatment of Kelly, were "selective, grossly 
one-sided and a serious threat to the future of investigative 
journalism." 
The NUJ support for Gilligan came as the BBC governors were 
meeting to decide their response to the report following the 
resignation of BBC chairman Gavyn Davies. 
HC/212 
End