Stop swanking
Sir: The BBC's John Simpson seems un- happy that he didn't get to talk with Saddam Hussein while ITN's Trevor McDonald did (17 November).
The fact is that ITN got their exclusive interview — the first by a British television reporter — by sheer hard work and persist- ence.
Within days of the Iraqi invasion of
LETTERS
Kuwait early in August, ITN put in a request for an interview with Saddam. We backed this up with frequent requests in Baghdad and a series of meetings with the Iraqi representatives in London. Our per- sistence paid off — we got the interview and the BBC then suggested it should become a joint affair.
For Simpson to suggest that the BBC would never broadcast an interview with a politician unedited smacks of the hypocri- tical. What about their Panorama inter- views with Margaret Thatcher? Were they edited?
ITN felt it was justified, in the public interest, to transmit the interview in full. The BBC were beaten by journalistic enterprise and they should have the grace to admit it.
Geraldine Sharpe-Newton
Head of Press & Public Affairs Independent Television News Limited, ' ITN House, 48 Wells Street, London W1
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