17 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
BBC Press statement
The BBC has played a leading role in bringing to the public’s attention the actions of Trafigura in the illegal dumping of 500 tons of hazardous waste in Abidjan in 2006. The dumping caused a public health emergency with tens of thousands of people seeking treatment.
Last month, Trafigura agreed to pay victims of the waste around £30 million in compensation, having previously paid compensation of over £100 million to the Ivory Coast government.Trafigura brought libel proceedings against the BBC over one aspect of its reporting: claims that the waste had caused deaths, miscarriages and serious long term health effects. An official Ivory Coast Government report into the incident had stated that people had died because of the waste and a recent United Nations report also found that there was strong prima facie evidence linking the waste to a number of deaths.
Last month Trafigura agreed to pay victims of the waste around £30 million in compensation for sickness suffered. However, the experts in that case were not able to establish a link between the waste and serious long term consequences including deaths. In light of this, the BBC acknowledges that the evidence does not establish that Trafigura’s slops caused deaths, miscarriages or serious or long term injuries. Accordingly, the BBC has withdrawn those allegations and has agreed to broadcast an appropriate apology on Newsnight. The BBC will pay £25,000 to a charity of Trafigura’s choice.
17 Dec 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
The BBC has today withdrawn claims made on flagship news programme Newsnight that oil-trading company Trafigura caused deaths in the Ivory Coast after toxic waste was dumped there. in a settlement designed to head off a potentially massively expensive libel case, the BBC will make a small donation to charity at Trafigura’s request.
While other sources, including the British government, claimed that Trafigura’s actions had caused deaths in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast’s largest city, Newsnight was unable to independently verify the claim.
Sources at the BBC say the corporation faced up to £3 million in legal costs if it defended the case against Trafigura.
Read BBC court statement here
16 Dec 2009 | Comment, News and features
Barack Obama’s promise to break with secrecy has been short-lived, says Melissa Goodman, in an exclusive article for Index on Censorship”s review of 2009
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16 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
Yesterday at the Iraq inquiry, chairman Sir John Chilcot cut the live broadcast of a public hearing when former diplomat Sir Jeremy Greenstock strayed into a “sensitive” area. It could not have come at a worse time for the inquiry, as it tries to fight back against claims that it is hamstrung by restrictions imposed by the government on what it can say, what it can ask and what it can publish.
Conducting a live public inquiry whose proceedings are available almost live on the internet is no easy task and Chilcot is in the unenviable position of having to make very rapid decisions about what can be broadcast. But the inquiry has dug itself into a very large hole by not being open about what it is concealing. Now Chilcot has drawn attention to the issue and given his critics a field day.
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