A serious dispute between the government and the BBC grew more complex on Tuesday when a defense staffer said he had an unauthorized meeting with a BBC reporter whose story is the source of the argument.
Just as it appeared likely the row would subside, at least publicly, the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday evening put forward the account of an anonymous official who might, possibly, be the source of the disputed report.
The BBC then said he probably wasn't the source, but suggested that if he were, he wouldn't necessarily be telling the ministry the same thing he told the reporter.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's office at 10 Downing St. has repeatedly demanded an apology from the BBC for a report quoting a single anonymous intelligence source as saying a dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had been "sexed up" on the orders of Blair aide Alastair Campbell.
The threat of Iraqi weapons was Blair's main argument for war against Iraq.
A furious Campbell, Blair's communications chief, forcefully denied the allegation and on Monday he was cleared by a parliamentary committee looking into the decisions that led Britain into war.
The BBC has insisted it was right to broadcast the story by reporter Andrew Gilligan.
Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday denied that he misled lawmakers about intelligence contained in the dossier which was published earlier in the year.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source