Greg Dyke, the former BBC director general ousted over the broadcaster's coverage of the Iraq conflict, yesterday unleashed a scorching attack on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, blaming him for trying to bully the BBC into submission. \nDyke, in excerpts of his upcoming book Inside Story published in the Observer and the Mail, also scalded the BBC governing board for pandering to Blair's office by pushing him out. \n"We were all duped," he said of the argument Blair made to drum up support for the Iraq war. "History will not be on Blair's side, it will show that the whole saga is a great political scandal." \nBlair was "either incompetent and took Britain to war on a misunderstanding, or he lied when he told the House of Commons that he didn't know what the 45-minute claim meant." \nDyke referred to a claim made, then retracted, by Blair's office in arguing for Saddam Hussein's overthrow, that Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons in just 45 minutes. \nA BBC reporter accused the government of "sexing up" its dossier with the false claim, thereby triggering a scandal that pitted the BBC against the government in an open conflict. \nBlair's former media advisor Alastair Campbell, too, was a "deranged, vindictive bastard" who vilified the BBC for its refusal to bow to Downing Street over the war, Dyke said. \nHe also reveals that when the BBC did finally apologize after Dyke had quit, they first checked the statement with Number 10. \n"I had no idea I would be fired by a board of governors behaving like frightened rabbits caught in car headlights," Dyke says. \nDyke also revealed that Blair sent a letter to Dyke and the BBC chairman a week before the war in Iraq started. \n"It seems to me there has been a real breakdown of the separation of news and comment," Blair wrote. \n"I believe, and I am not alone in believing, that you have not got the balance right between support and dissent; between news and comment; between the voices of the Iraqi regime and the voices of Iraqi dissidents; or between the diplomatic support we have, and diplomatic opposition," he wrote. \nThe book also claims that Blair broke a promise to the BBC chairman that he would not demand the resignations of either himself or Dyke following publication of the Hutton Report. \nThe Hutton inquiry was set up after the death of David Kelly, the government scientist linked to claims on the BBC radio Today program that Downing Street had manipulated its intelligence data to make a stronger case for war. \nBoth Davies and Dyke left the BBC within 36 hours of the report's appearance, after Campbell accused the corporation of lying in an officially sanctioned statement. \nAfter Kelly's death, the government further tried to turn the screw, with one Cabinet minister briefing journalists that "the problem with the BBC was ... too much money and Greg Dyke." The minister also spoke of "revenge."
In this era of social distancing and depressing news, we could all do with a good hug. Now scientists have analyzed what makes the perfect cuddle — do not squeeze too tight. A team from Japan’s Toho University measured the calming effect on infants of hugs of different pressures, and when given by strangers compared with from parents. By monitoring the heart rate of the infant and using pressure sensors on the adult’s hand, the researchers assessed the baby’s reaction to just being held, a hug with medium pressure and what they called a “tight hug.” The results, published in the journal
BLACK LIVES MATTER: Australian officials warned the public that they could be fined or arrested if they breach COVID-19 rules to take part in the protests Australia yesterday said that it would not be intimidated by attempts at economic “coercion” after China threatened to undermine the multibillion-dollar flow of Chinese tourists and students to the country. Beijing has issued warnings that Chinese should avoid Australia due to concerns about racist incidents targeting ethnic Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The comments were the latest salvo in a long-brewing diplomatic dispute between Australia and its largest trading partner. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday dismissed allegations of racist treatment of Chinese as “rubbish.” “It’s a ridiculous assertion and it’s rejected,” he said during a radio interview. “We have an important trading relationship with
BORDER TENSIONS: Two groups run by defectors that have been sending leaflets and bottles of rice by balloon to the North face prosecution in Seoul The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is taking a leading role in a new, more hardline pressure campaign against South Korea, highlighting what analysts say is a substantive policy role that goes beyond being her brother’s assistant. Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo-jong is the only close relative of the North Korean leader to play a public role in politics. During the 2018-2019 flurry of international diplomacy, Kim Yo-jong garnered global attention by leading a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Later, she was often seen dashing about to make sure everything went well
Mining giant BHP Billiton is poised to destroy at least 40 — and possibly as many as 86 — significant Aboriginal sites in the central Pilbara to expand its South Flank iron ore mining operation, even though its own reports show it is aware that the traditional owners are deeply opposed to the move. A BHP archeological survey identified rock shelters that were occupied between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, and noted that evidence in the broader area showed “occupation of the surrounding landscape has been ongoing for approximately 40,000 years.” BHP’s report in September last year identified 22 sites scattered with
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