Â鶹Éç

The Â鶹Éç's Charter and Agreement makes it clear that complainants on appropriate matters have the right of appeal to the Trust, and that the Trust has the right to decide whether or not to hear any appeal. An ad hoc committee of three Trustees today considered two appeals, one from Peter Hain MP, the other from a member of the public, relating to the invitation to the BNP to appear on Question Time on 22 October 2009. The Trustees were Richard Tait (chairman), Mehmuda Mian and Jeremy Peat.

They took the view that the Charter and Agreement establishes the Director-General as editor-in-chief of the Â鶹Éç - the individual responsible for the editorial content of Â鶹Éç programmes. The Charter also makes clear that the Â鶹Éç Trust should not exercise the functions of the Executive. This carries the clear implication that the Trust should not attempt to take upon itself the role of editor-in-chief. In practice this means not intervening in editorial decisions relating to individual programmes before they have been broadcast. After broadcast any Â鶹Éç programme is, of course, subject to the Â鶹Éç complaints process, in which the Trust plays a key role as the final court of appeal.

The committee decided that since the appeals covered issues already considered by the Director-General in his role as editor-in-chief and related to a programme not yet transmitted, these were not appeals that they should hear.

Sir Michael Lyons, Â鶹Éç Trust Chairman said:

"The Â鶹Éç Trust is aware of the debate and public controversy on this issue and understands that this is a matter of considerable importance to many licence fee payers. We take our responsibilities in this area very seriously in line with the Â鶹Éç's constitutional arrangements."

Richard Tait, Â鶹Éç Trustee and chairman of the committee said:

"We have decided it would be wrong for the Trust to intervene in a programme not yet broadcast – even one as plainly controversial as this. To do so would undermine the editorial independence of the Â鶹Éç – something we are strongly committed to preserve. Until it is broadcast, the content of Thursday's Question Time is entirely a matter for the Director-General acting as the Â鶹Éç's editor-in-chief, and we have impressed upon him his duty to ensure the programme is fully compliant with the law and with the Â鶹Éç's published editorial guidelines. Once the programme has been broadcast, any member of the public who feels it breaches the guidelines can make use of the established Â鶹Éç complaints process to make their case."

Ends.