POL00152061
POL00152061
PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
PANORAMA AND SPARROW
As you are aware, the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme, Panorama, is planning a film on the
Sparrow issue on June 22. We have been approached with a request for an interview with you in
relation to this.
Panorama is a prime time programme which commands a significant audience. The coverage will
also be channelled through other BBC outlets in order to drive audience figures in advance. The film
is being made by a reporter called John Sweeney. Mr Sweeney is high profile and has a reputation
for covering subjects in a distinctive manner. We will provide you with examples: the most famous
recent example was his film from North Korea where he posed as a Phd student from LSE to gain
entry to the country. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22142294
While it is frustrating that Panorama is covering this issue, it is sufficiently high profile for us —in our
view — to take very seriously, and to be as accommodating as possible to the programme, and robust
in our responses. If we do not appear in the programme we risk looking evasive when — as we know
—we are in a very strong position. This view is shared by our external advisers at Brunswick.
We therefore recommend that [at the right time, and only once we are clear about their line of
questioning and other interviewees] we offer an interview with you to the programme. This would
be accompanied by substantial preparation and ‘mock’ interviews with Brunswick and my team.
In addition, I plan to offer the programme:
- A full background, off camera briefing on the issues with relevant colleagues (Angela VDB
and Patrick Bourke)
- Afilmed interview with Angela
- Full access to all relevant documentation (where agreed with legal team)
We should be confident and open about this approach. It is frustrating and will be time consuming.
But it is also an opportunity to place on record both the thorough nature of our approach and,
crucially, the lack of any evidence to suggest an issue with Horizon.
Mark Davies, May 20 2015