The BBC is spending income from TV licence fees on an expensive legal battle to keep secret an internal report. Two barristers were employed by the state media giant in a two-day hearing by an Information Tribunal.
Ruling against the BBC, the Tribunal said that the report on the Corporation’s coverage of the Middle East should be released.
More money paid to the BBC in return for its permission to watch television will now be spent on the Corporation’s appeal to the High Court against the decision of the Tribunal.
The BBC refuses to say how much of licence payers’ money is being spent to prevent them reading the report they paid for.
Since the Freedom of Information Act was implemented in January 2005 105 complaints have been made against the BBC. Four have been dismissed and the rest are currently being looked into.