BBC apologises for Gilligan errors

BBC chief executive Greg Dyke today accepted that “certain key allegations” reported by Andrew Gilligan on the Today programme on May 29 last year were wrong and said the BBC apologised for them.

But he added: “We would point out again that at no stage in the last eight months have we accused the Prime Minister of lying and have said this publicly on several occasions.”

Mr Dyke's statement said: "Dr Kelly's death was a tragedy for his family and, again, we offer our sincere condolences to them.

“We note Lord Hutton’s criticisms of the BBC. Many of these relate to mistakes which the BBC has already acknowledged in its submission to the inquiry and for which we have already expressed regret.

“Thanks to the process of Lord Hutton’s inquiry, we now know more about the evolution of the September dossier.

“The BBC does accept that certain key allegations reported by Andrew Gilligan on the Today programme on May 29 last year were wrong and we apologise for them.”