Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 12, 2007 12:24:21 GMT
There's a wonderful irony to the story below, and it brings out the true character of those involved in the hierachy of the BBC. First it shows the governors are not concerned with any moral issues as to whether Dyke should have been rehired, just whether doing so would have affected their deal with the government for TV license renewal.
After Dyke had been director-general, and probably guilty of shafting many in a similar way 'for the good of the beeb', did he really think that they were going to make an exception in his case? I enjoy the thought of him grovelling for his job back, and being refused.
His high level response?
To call the governors "silly bastards"
;D
After Dyke had been director-general, and probably guilty of shafting many in a similar way 'for the good of the beeb', did he really think that they were going to make an exception in his case? I enjoy the thought of him grovelling for his job back, and being refused.
His high level response?
To call the governors "silly bastards"
;D
Dyke asked for job back after quitting BBC
By Richard Alleyne
Last Updated: 2:26am GMT 12/01/2007
Greg Dyke, the former director-general of the BBC forced to resign in the wake of the Hutton Report, asked for his job back a week later, it was revealed yesterday.
Newly released minutes from the corporation show that Dyke wrote a letter to the board of governors in which he asked them to reverse their decision amid public consternation over his removal.
"I believe I have been mistreated and I want to be reinstated," the letter said.
But the governors turned down his request claiming that it would be "untenable" and he would be a "lame duck" director-general.
The documents were released by the BBC Trust, board of governors' replacement, yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act.
They show the devastation that surrounded the corporation after the Hutton Report, an investigation into events surrounding the death of weapons inspector Dr David Kelly, was published on Jan 28, 2004 and was highly critical of the BBC.
The minutes reveal that Gavyn Davies, the BBC chairman, decided to resign immediately but that Dyke, who told the governors it was "the most one-sided report of its kind" that he had ever seen, was reluctant to go.
He eventually agreed to resign after the board refused to back him. They said he would be dismissed if he did not quit. The minutes show Dyke was "very surprised and shattered by the news".
However, six days later he asked for his job back, claiming that an agreement had been made between Davies and the governors to keep him on.
This was denied by the governors and they refused to reverse their decision.
The minutes stated: "In spite of the wide range of initial views, the governors were unanimous in the view that reversing their decision and therefore reinstating Greg Dyke as DG was simply untenable.
"One governor summed this up by arguing that such a response would look ridiculous and would create anarchy in the organisation. The board resolved therefore to respond firmly to Greg to confirm its previous decision to accept his offer of resignation."
They also claimed that he would have no political influence over the Government when it came to licence fee negotiations.
The minutes reveal why Dyke subsequently expressed his dismay at the lack of backing he got from the board.
In an interview a few months later he told how he expected that the BBC's governors would support him in the aftermath of the Hutton report.
"On the day I left, it never crossed my mind that these silly bastards would respond in this way," he said. He also claimed that the governors would have supported him if he had been from a more aristocratic background.