The Cover-up
When listeners began to ask what had happened to James, they were sent a reply from Karen Hannah which omitted any mention of the accusations which had been put to him.
It read:-
"You may have seen reports in various newspapers giving the reasons for James' departure but I am afraid these have been rather simplistic and do not give a full picture of what happened.
As the Editor of the station it is my responsibility to investigate complaints made as a result of our programming and on Tuesday several listeners called me to complain about the use of a word during James' phone-in, which they thought was offensive to Black people.
It is standard practice in such cases to discuss complaints with the relevant Presenter and Producer before making a reply, but James would not enter into a discussion and resigned on the spot. I therefore had no choice but to replace him until I can resolve the matter permanently.
I hope this clarifies things and am sorry if you will miss James' programme."
[The punctuation and grammar are as they appear in the original]
The Staff of BBC GMR were informed via the Station Newsletter of September 28th, 1998.
Ms Hannah chose to represent the events of September 22nd in this way, presumably believing it to be a fuller and less simplistic explanation.
When Ms Hannah received a letter from James' solicitor proposing to take the matter to an industrial tribunal, she then went on to give the BBC's legal department a similarly incomplete account.
Before discussing the case with the BBC's lawyers, Ms Hannah sought the advice of a colleague, who urged her to tell them the full story so that they would have all the facts at their disposal. After the meeting, Ms Hannah told her colleague that she had not revealed to the lawyers the second accusation put to James (of racist language off-air) on the grounds that her handling of the situation reflected badly on her.
In the words of that colleague, "Karen Hannah and Martin Brooks have told a pack of lies about the whole thing."
The same altered account was given to the office of the then Director-General, John Birt. In response to an enquiry from a listener who wrote direct to Broadcasting House, Margaret Salmon (Director of Personnel) indicated in her reply that the full facts had been concealed. You can read that reply here.
Ms Hannah also expressed the fear that her doctored account might rebound on her if she had been recorded while speaking to James on the phone. This apprehension is well-founded.
[Ms Hannah recently moved from BBC GMR to the television programme "Heaven and Earth", which deals with issues of a moral, ethical and spiritual nature]
Click on the radio to continue
