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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear Lesley & Colleagues,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>earlier today (Wed April 2nd) I sent you a an
e-mail in which I said that contributor Trevor Kavanagh was lying - the message
was written in haste, in anger, but it seems that the BBC's e-mail facility
collapsed entirely this afternoon, so it wouldn't have got to you
anyway.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm aware that the use of the 'L' word, in media as
well as politics, is verboten, but for mere plebs like me it is, at times,
unavoidable. To make it clear, and remove any dubiety from my previous message -
Trevor Kavanagh was lying when he said, on your show, that there were still
doubts as to the origin of the missile which destroyed the market-place in
Baghdad i.e. that the tragedy may have been the result of an Iraqi
air-defence missile 'going up, then down.' He may, in his defence, claim
that he was referring to the 'first' such attack, which claimed fewer lives, but
the essence of the deception remains the same. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Trevor Kavanagh holds a senior and very
influential position in the best-selling daily newspaper in Britain.
Execrable as the contents of that publication might be for many
folk, it is only logical to expect that someone attaining such a lofty
position has a good command of the skills employed in that trade as well as a
keen awareness of what his peers are doing. Presumably, that is why he is deemed
a worthy - and regular - guest on your show. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Robert Fisk's report on what happened in the
Baghdad market-place</FONT> <FONT face=Arial size=2>was viewable online on
Sunday March 30th. He reported in detail what he witnessed in the
market in the Shu'ale suburb in the aftermath of an aerial
bombardment. That's what journalists are supposed to
do. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>What Trevor Kavanagh did today on your show was
nothing short of criminal - there is no way that someone in his position, with
his responsibility, could possibly be unaware of Fisk's report. Tonight, Channel
4 News was broadcasting the details of Fisk's message (although it was
attributed) as an 'exclusive'. This is three days after Fisk's report first
appeared online, and five days after the 'incident' in question.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Trevor Kavanagh has appeared on the Lesley Riddoch
Show many times since the show started. I'm sure I'm not the only listener
who would be very grateful if you would invite him to guest on tomorrow's
show to explain his misleading statements about the
'market-place' bombings and ask him if he knew about Robert Fisk's reports when
he made those comments - if he wasn't aware of them then he is negligent
and shouldn't be entrusted with the position he occupies. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If he was aware of them, he's a liar.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ian Brotherhood</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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