LETTERS BBC integrity
Sir: I was most interested in Paul Johnson's feature 'An Iron Duke for the BBC' in the Spectator (10 October) in which he com- mented on the implications of Mr Duke Hussey assuming chairmanship of the BBC and the possible effect on what he sees as a lack of political integrity becoming in- creasingly apparent.
A good illustration of biased reporting is evident in the case of South Africa where for some months we have been bombarded with the views of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Winnie Mandela as repre- senting the majority of black South Africa. Whether or not they do is not my concern.
What does interest me however is that during the recent Conservative Party Con- ference, an Edinburgh Councillor was given a standing ovation for his harsh condemnation of Messrs Tutu and Mande- la by name — as far as I was able to determine the only one given to a speaker from the floor — yet in subsequent news broadcasts in which the speech was re- ported this — the most important element of it — was edited out.
It is political manipulation of this type which creates suspicion in the minds of otherwise impartial licence holders.
James McBurnie
17 Rochester Way, Crowborough, East Sussex
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