BBC apologises over Band Aid money reports
Live Aid took place at the old Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985
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The BBC has apologised over reports claiming millions of pounds raised by Band Aid was used to buy arms.
In March, World Service's Assignment said cash raised by charities to help Ethiopia had been diverted by rebels.
The BBC has admitted that Assignment gave the impression that Band Aid and Live Aid money had been diverted despite no evidence to back that up.
It apologised for further TV, radio and online reports which actually stated that Band Aid money had paid for arms.
The BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit found in its ruling that there was no evidence to support such statements and that "they should not have been broadcast".
"The BBC wishes to apologise unreservedly to the Band Aid Trust for the misleading and unfair impression which was created," it added.
'Sexed up'
Bob Geldof said he hoped the apology would "repair some of the appalling damage done"
The original investigation by BBC World Service Africa editor Martin Plaut included claims that substantial amounts of aid from western governments and charities went into rebel-held areas of Tigray province in 1985 and was used to buy weapons.
Former BBC chairman Michael Grade, a trustee of the Band Aid Trust, said Assignment had "sexed up" its story by "trying to smear Live Aid through this programme through the use of all the music from Live Aid and using Bob Geldof's name".
He added: "We're very glad finally to be able to reassure all the millions and millions of people around the world over 20-odd years who've given millions of pounds to Band Aid and Live Aid to relieve suffering that, of course, the money did not go to arms."
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This was an unusual lapse in standards by the broadcaster and, most critically, the World Service”
Bob Geldof
He said the BBC had made "a terrible, terrible mistake, they've damaged 24 years of work, they've damaged the public perception of giving aid to relieve starving people around the world".
And he questioned why it had taken seven months since a complaint by the Band Aid Trust for the BBC to make an apology.
Director of global news, Peter Horrocks, told Today the examination of the complaint "was a detailed one - there were lots of detailed aspects that have been gone into and fresh research was done".
"The thoroughness of the complaints procedure and the fact that the BBC can wholeheartedly acknowledge that errors have been made I would regard as being a strength," he added.
He said the BBC accepted that an unfair impression had been created by the production of Assignment "including, for instance, the use of Band Aid music".
"What we should have specifically said was there was no specific evidence and we're apologising today to the Band Aid Trust and we're also apologising personally to Bob Geldof."
'Appalling damage'
The BBC admitted that further reports on outlets including Radio 4 and the BBC News website went further "than the programme itself in stating that millions of pounds raised by Band Aid and Live Aid had been diverted to buy arms".
It also apologised to Bob Geldof - the driving force behind Band Aid and Live Aid - for implying he declined to be interviewed at the time "because he thought the subject too sensitive to be discussed openly".
Mr Geldof said: "This was an unusual lapse in standards by the broadcaster and, most critically, the World Service.
"It was Michael Buerk's frontline reports for the BBC from Ethiopia which prompted me to act and establish Band Aid in the first place and I recognise the important journalistic and humanitarian role the BBC has played in our story."
He welcomed the apology and said he hoped it would "begin to repair some of the appalling damage done".
On-air apologies are due to be made on all BBC outlets that broadcast the claims.
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Bob Geldof demands proof of BBC Ethiopia aid report | |||||||||||
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Bob Geldof: "If there is any money missing I will sue the Ethiopian government"
Bob Geldof has challenged the BBC to substantiate its report that millions raised for famine relief in Ethiopia were diverted to pay for weapons.
The anti-poverty campaigner said there was "not a shred of evidence" Band Aid or Live Aid money was siphoned off.
The report included claims that substantial sums of aid that went into rebel-held areas of Tigray province in 1985 were used to buy arms.
The BBC World Service has said it is standing by its report.
Mr Geldof told BBC One's Andrew Marr show he would personally sue the Ethiopian government and spend the money on aid if any evidence was produced.
'Credible voices'
He said: "Produce me one shred of evidence and I promise you I will professionally investigate it, I will professionally report it, and if there is any money missing I will sue the Ethiopian government for that money back and I will spend it on aid.
"There is not a single shred of evidence that Band Aid or Live Aid money was diverted in any sense, it could not have been."
The news and current affairs editor at the World Service, Andrew Whitehead, said the BBC stood by its report.
Taking part in a discussion with Mr Geldof, Mr Whitehead said the BBC had "quite a lot of evidence" to support the report.
The World Service report featured interviews with two former members of a rebel group who made the allegations dating from the mid-80s.
They told the BBC they posed as merchants in meetings with charity workers to get aid money which they used to fund attempts to overthrow the government.
One rebel leader estimated that $95m (£63m) from Western governments and charities was diverted. The CIA also alleged aid money was being misused, Mr Whitehead pointed out in a radio discussion. He accepted the 1985 report from the crime agency was written before Band Aid had gone into Ethiopia, but said it established "a pattern" that international aid was being used for military purposes. The report concluded: "Some funds that insurgent organisations are raising for relief operations, as a result of increased world publicity, are almost certainly being diverted for military purposes." Mr Geldof, who was speaking to the BBC from Nairobi, also said one of the sources quoted in the report was a "dissident political exile" who was "not credible".
Martin Plaut, the World Service's Africa editor who broke the story, said a lot of his nine-month investigation was spent trying to corroborate or dismiss events. He said: "We came across a lot of other evidence which made it clear that yes, indeed, some of the money had gone astray." He added that the "balanced, measured" programme had gone through the entire BBC editorial process and had not simply been "thrown on air". Mr Geldof and the Band Aid Trust are taking their complaint to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom. They and a number of other agencies, including Oxfam, the Red Cross, Christian Aid and Save The Children, are also writing to chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons. John Kennedy, a co-founder of the Band Aid Trust, said: "The trust is writing to the BBC and Ofcom to complain about the broadcast." A Christian Aid spokeswoman confirmed it was planning to support the complaint. Correction 4 November 2010: This page has been amended following a complaint by the Band Aid Trust, which was upheld by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit. | | ||||
| Bob Geldof demands proof of BBC Ethiopia aid report |
Click to play
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Bob Geldof: "If there is any money missing I will sue the Ethiopian government"
Bob Geldof has challenged the BBC to substantiate its report that millions raised for famine relief in Ethiopia were diverted to pay for weapons.
The anti-poverty campaigner said there was "not a shred of evidence" Band Aid or Live Aid money was siphoned off.
The report included claims that substantial sums of aid that went into rebel-held areas of Tigray province in 1985 were used to buy arms.
The BBC World Service has said it is standing by its report.
Mr Geldof told BBC One's Andrew Marr show he would personally sue the Ethiopian government and spend the money on aid if any evidence was produced.
'Credible voices'
He said: "Produce me one shred of evidence and I promise you I will professionally investigate it, I will professionally report it, and if there is any money missing I will sue the Ethiopian government for that money back and I will spend it on aid.
"There is not a single shred of evidence that Band Aid or Live Aid money was diverted in any sense, it could not have been."
The news and current affairs editor at the World Service, Andrew Whitehead, said the BBC stood by its report.
Taking part in a discussion with Mr Geldof, Mr Whitehead said the BBC had "quite a lot of evidence" to support the report.
The World Service report featured interviews with two former members of a rebel group who made the allegations dating from the mid-80s.
They told the BBC they posed as merchants in meetings with charity workers to get aid money which they used to fund attempts to overthrow the government.
One rebel leader estimated that $95m (£63m) from Western governments and charities was diverted. The CIA also alleged aid money was being misused, Mr Whitehead pointed out in a radio discussion. He accepted the 1985 report from the crime agency was written before Band Aid had gone into Ethiopia, but said it established "a pattern" that international aid was being used for military purposes. The report concluded: "Some funds that insurgent organisations are raising for relief operations, as a result of increased world publicity, are almost certainly being diverted for military purposes." Mr Geldof, who was speaking to the BBC from Nairobi, also said one of the sources quoted in the report was a "dissident political exile" who was "not credible".
Martin Plaut, the World Service's Africa editor who broke the story, said a lot of his nine-month investigation was spent trying to corroborate or dismiss events. He said: "We came across a lot of other evidence which made it clear that yes, indeed, some of the money had gone astray." He added that the "balanced, measured" programme had gone through the entire BBC editorial process and had not simply been "thrown on air". Mr Geldof and the Band Aid Trust are taking their complaint to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom. They and a number of other agencies, including Oxfam, the Red Cross, Christian Aid and Save The Children, are also writing to chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons. John Kennedy, a co-founder of the Band Aid Trust, said: "The trust is writing to the BBC and Ofcom to complain about the broadcast." A Christian Aid spokeswoman confirmed it was planning to support the complaint. Correction 4 November 2010: This page has been amended following a complaint by the Band Aid Trust, which was upheld by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit. Bookmark with: Masters Degree- Diplomacy
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