Blair Conspired to Stop 'Scottish Six' - Salmond Writes to Dyke

The Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Mr Alex Salmond MP today [Tuesday] wrote to the director-general of the BBC, Greg Dyke, demanding a meeting following the revelation by Mr Dyke's predecessor, John Birt, that Tony Blair intervened in 1998 to prevent the BBC developing a 'Scottish Six' main evening news bulletin.

In his letter, Mr Salmond, said:

I write in order to draw your attention to an extraordinary interview given by your immediate predecessor, Mr John Birt, regarding his forthcoming autobiography, on the subject of a Scottish-based main evening news bulletin - the 'Scottish Six'.

As the following extract shows, Mr Birt's remarks indicate that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, conspired with him to stop the 'Scottish Six', and did so for blatantly political reasons:

"The break-up of the BBC, Birt argued yesterday, could in turn have led to the collapse of the union. 'Quite quickly there would have been no UK-wide BBC news and that would have been totemic of the break-up of the UK.'

"He decided to write to the Prime Minster and then met Blair to convince him to resist a devolved BBC. 'I argued we should follow constitutional change; it was not our role to lead it. Blair was quick, as ever, to grasp the case. 'Let's fight,' he said.' Blair enlisted the help of Peter Mandelson, at the time minister without portfolio and his most trusted aide-de-camp. Mandelson worked with the BBC secretary Michael Stevenson on a plan of action. The Prime Minister's backing ensured that over the next 12 months, Labour held the line." [Sunday Herald, 20 October 2002].

Such a conspiracy between the Government and the BBC to prevent the development of the 'Scottish Six' is entirely at odds with the commitment in the BBC's Royal Charter that it is intended to be an "independent corporation". /

In 1998, we were assured that the decision not to proceed with the 'Scottish Six' - against the wishes of the Broadcasting Council for Scotland, BBC Scotland management and journalists - was taken for broadcasting reasons.

But we now know from Mr Birt's comments that this decision was taken primarily for political reasons: as he puts it, to prevent 'the collapse of the union'.

To use John Birt's own word, Blair agreed to 'fight' against a 'Scottish Six', which is unacceptable and totally undemocratic.

This is a substantial blow to the integrity of the BBC, its claims of independence from government, and any notion that policy is decided on the basis of the wishes of viewers.

I am requesting a meeting with you as a matter of urgency in order to discuss this matter, now that the issue of a 'Scottish Six' is back on the BBC's agenda.

We must know if 10 Downing Street is still interfering in BBC policy and seeking to stop the 'Scottish Six' under your tenure as director-general. And we must be given an absolute assurance that the BBC will take a decision on the 'Scottish Six' next time round for genuine broadcasting reasons - and not on the basis of a New Labour political agenda, as happened in 1998.


Commenting on his letter, Mr Alex Salmond MP said:

"We now know that Tony Blair interfered with BBC policy on news and current affairs programming in Scotland for political reasons. A concerted campaign from 10 Downing Street stopped the 'Scottish Six' - in defiance of what Scots want.

"The SNP are demanding a meeting with the current director-general of the BBC, Greg Dyke, as a matter of urgency.

"We need to know if 10 Downing Street is still interfering in Scottish broadcasting - and we must be given an absolute assurance that the decision on the 'Scottish Six' next time round will be taken by the BBC for broadcasting reasons, not for political reasons as was the case in 1998."