‘Brickh Broadcasting Corporation Meda Care Meds Vie White Cy 201 Wood Lane London W/I2 7TQ Telephone 0207 SEO 4468 Fx 0708 08 1147 17 June 2004 ‘Mr Jonathan Boyd Hunt Saeed a= Manchester (> Dear Mr Boyd Hunt ‘Thank you for your letters of 19 April 2004 and 17 May 2004. ‘You accuse the BBC of censorship because it has not reported in detail on your investigation into the so-called “cash for questions” affair. It is up to Programme Editors within BBC News to judge the importance of news stories - and it is they who decide which items to cover on our news programmes. Clearly to date no Editor has chosen to take your investigation further - but this does not amount to censorship. In fact, the BBC has reported on your investigation. BBC News Online published a story about the launch of your book Trial by Conspiracy, and summarised its theme, on Monday 19 October, 1998. Furthermore, during the ITC hearing of your appeal against its decision not to uphold your complaint against Granada TV for failing to ‘maintain due impartiality in its coverage of the affair, you compared the BBC favourably to Granada because your investigation received coverage on BBC News 24 and BBC Northwest. I appreciate that you have made a considerable effort to investigate this story and you would have liked it to have achieved greater coverage, but the level of coverage that the BBC News Editors gave to your investigation is not a reasonable platform on which to base accusations of censorship, bias or unlawful activity as alleged in your letter of 17 May. In the spirit of good faith and co-operation, however, BBC News has agreed to circulate your dossier to key Editors within the department, and I'm sure that should anyone wish to take it further, they will contact you. Cont'd‘Turning to the subsidiary points you make in your letter of the 17 May. Our reporting of Martin Bell's views was prompted by the fact that we were in fact covering the Tatton election campaign, which we have a duty to do. As far as Andrew Marr is concemed, BBC News would like to point out that as the BBC's Political Editor it is his role to report on the political implications of stories. Yours sincerely pA J Mark Byford