2-14-2004 British government considering dismantling BBC over Iraq War
Britain's government is considering a plan to break up the BBC and remove its independent status in the wake of a bitter row with the state-funded broadcaster over the Iraq war, a report said.
The dispute came after a BBC radio report alleged in May last year that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction in a pre-war dossier.
Government weapons expert David Kelly was later identified as the anonymous source of the charge. Kelly killed himself soon afterwards.
An inquiry into Kelly's death, led by judge Lord Brian Hutton, concluded last month that the BBC's story had been "unfounded", a verdict which forced the corporation to apologise, with the corporation's chairman and director general resigning.
Britain's government is considering a plan to break up the BBC and remove its independent status in the wake of a bitter row with the state-funded broadcaster over the Iraq war, a report said.
The dispute came after a BBC radio report alleged in May last year that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction in a pre-war dossier.
Government weapons expert David Kelly was later identified as the anonymous source of the charge. Kelly killed himself soon afterwards.
An inquiry into Kelly's death, led by judge Lord Brian Hutton, concluded last month that the BBC's story had been "unfounded", a verdict which forced the corporation to apologise, with the corporation's chairman and director general resigning.
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