BBC News

===Hutton Inquiry===
{{Main|Hutton Inquiry}}

BBC News was at the centre of a political controversy following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. Three BBC News reports ([[Andrew Gilligan]]'s on ''[[Today programme|Today]]'', Gavin Hewitt's on ''The Ten O'Clock News'' and another on ''[[Newsnight]]'') quoted an anonymous source that stated the British government (particularly the Prime Minister's office) had embellished the [[September Dossier]] with misleading exaggerations of Iraq's [[weapons of mass destruction]] capabilities. The government denounced the reports and accused the corporation of poor journalism.

In subsequent weeks the corporation stood by the report, saying that it had a reliable source. Following intense media speculation, [[David Kelly (weapons expert)|David Kelly]] was named in the press as the source for Gilligan's story on 9 July 2003. Kelly was found dead, by suicide, in a field close to his home early on 18 July. An inquiry led by [[Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton|Lord Hutton]] was announced by the British government the following day to investigate the circumstances leading to Kelly's death, concluding that "Dr. Kelly took his own life."<ref>{{cite web|author=Vikram Dodd|title=Dr David Kelly: 10 years on, death of scientist remains unresolved for some|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/16/david-kelly-death-10-years-on|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 July 2013|access-date=24 March 2017|archive-date=24 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324180323/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/16/david-kelly-death-10-years-on|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his report on 28 January 2004, Lord Hutton concluded that Gilligan's original accusation was "unfounded" and the BBC's editorial and management processes were "defective". In particular, it specifically criticised the chain of management that caused the BBC to defend its story. The BBC Director of News, [[Richard Sambrook]], the report said, had accepted Gilligan's word that his story was accurate in spite of his notes being incomplete. Davies had then told the BBC Board of Governors that he was happy with the story and told the Prime Minister that a satisfactory internal inquiry had taken place. The Board of Governors, under the chairman's, [[Gavyn Davies]], guidance, accepted that further investigation of the Government's complaints were unnecessary.

Because of the criticism in the Hutton report, Davies resigned on the day of publication. BBC News faced an important test, reporting on itself with the publication of the report, but by common consent (of the Board of Governors) managed this "independently, impartially and honestly".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3890821.stm |title=BBC Iraq war coverage criticised |access-date=11 April 2007 |date=13 July 2004 |work=BBC News |archive-date=15 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060315044309/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3890821.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Davies' resignation was followed by the resignation of [[Director-General of the BBC|Director General]], [[Greg Dyke]], the following day, and the resignation of Gilligan on 30 January. While undoubtedly a traumatic experience for the corporation, an ICM poll in April 2003 indicated that it had sustained its position as the best and most trusted provider of news.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3889595.stm |title=BBC report 2004: At a glance |access-date=11 April 2007 |date=13 July 2004 |work=BBC News |archive-date=15 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040715042305/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3889595.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>