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Online Journalism News

Old ghosts resurface to haunt UK government

Posted: 11/09/03 By: Jemima Kiss
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A BBC documentary that caused a wave of controversy - and led to the early departure of the broadcasting organisation's director general Alistair Milne - is available for sale on a UK web site.

The Secret Society TV series was made in 1986 by investigative journalist Duncan Campbell, but only five of the six programmes were ever broadcast.

The final episode - 'Secret Cabinet Committees' - alleged that both the Labour government, under Prime Minister Jim Callaghan, and the Conservative government, under Margaret Thatcher, had made major decisions at secret meetings, bypassing the cabinet. The programme also revealed that Jim Callaghan had attempted to stall the freedom of information bill.

In 1987, police seized the tapes from the offices of BBC Scotland where the series had been made. Mr Campbell's home was also raided, although the tapes were later returned and the series broadcast on the BBC.

Journalist and freedom of information campaigner Tony Gosling is now offering the missing episode for sale on his web site.

Mr Gosling told dotJournalism that an influential London researcher had been asking the BBC for a copy of the documentary for several weeks, with no success. Mr Gosling then provided him with a video tape of the programme and made further copies available on his site.

"I think you have to ask why this series is so hard to find," Mr Gosling said.

"There has to be a political element. I'm fighting back against this unspoken censorship." He added that the series was unlikely to be included in the BBC's new 'Creative Archive' web project.

Mr Gosling established the Bilderberg.org site in 1996 as a platform for his investigations and alternative analysis of world events.

"It's like having my filing cabinet online," he said.

"It's very personal mixture of my own take on things and more structured analysis. I'm regularly contacted by people who need extra information that they can't find elsewhere."

The site is named after business lobbying organisation The Bilderberg Group - a favourite subject for conspiracy theorists who allege that the group of European and North American industrialists are planning the globalisation of world markets.

See also:
http://www.bilderberg.org
http://www.bbc.co.uk