Minister tried to gag Today programme http://education.guardian.co.uk/childrensministry/story/0,13982,1083216,00.html Sarah Hall and Matt Wells Wednesday November 12, 2003 The Guardian The government's uneasy peace with BBC Radio 4's Today programme was ruptured yesterday when it exposed the efforts of the children's minister, Margaret Hodge, to gag it from reporting allegations of abuse in an Islington children's home. Ms Hodge wrote to the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, claiming that the programme's reporter, Angus Stickler, was conducting a "concerted campaign" to link her to cases of abuse in homes run by Islington council, where she was leader from 1982 to 1992. Copying the letter to the BBC director general, Greg Dyke, to Today's editor, Kevin Marsh and to the BBC's director of news Richard Sambrook, she made a veiled threat of legal action, and went on to accuse the programme of "deplorable sensationalism" and "scant balance". She also labelled a former abuse victim, who told Today he had tried to inform her of the abuse, an "extremely disturbed person" - a move attacked yesterday by child protection experts and the opposition. Ms Hodge's intervention came in September after she learned that the programme was investigating an allegation by Demetrious Panton that in 1992 he had tried to inform her of abuse in an Islington home in the 70s. Mr Panton, a consultant who advises the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, claimed Stephen Twigg, now an education minister but then a councillor, had said he would convey the allegation but Ms Hodge maintains she was never told. His case was taken up in 1995 when he approached the police, who describe him as a "very articulate and measured witness", but his abuser committed suicide before he could be prosecuted. Ms Hodge, who was yesterday supported by Downing Street and the trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, refused to be interviewed on air but expressed her "deep regret" for the suffering of children in Islington homes. She added that, since her appointment as children's minister in June, the Today programme "have been constantly telephoning friends and colleagues to dig up details of events which happened between 10 and 20 years ago" but had failed to substantiate her involvement. "I am taken aback that the Today programme have chosen to make a letter which was not for publication public," she added. Yesterday, the BBC defended the decision to publish the letter. "The Today programme felt that, on balance, it was in the public interest to show how a minister of state responded to serious allegations," a BBC spokeswoman added. Bristol branch - National Union of Journalists 10-12 Picton Street Montpelier BRISTOL BS6 5QA England http://media.guardian.co.uk/ http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/ http://lists.southspace.net/listinfo/nuj_bristol/ http://lists.southspace.net/pipermail/nuj_bristol/ http://www.takebackthemedia.com/bushnonazi.html http://www.gn.apc.org/media/nuj.html http://www.nuj.org.uk http://www.cpj.org http://www.ifj.org +44 (0)117 944 6219