19 October 2010

Reply from BBC re July 2010 Complaint

After a delay of nearly 3 months and a further complaint, the BBC has deigned to reply to my July 2010 complaint to their article on the resignation of Deputy Director of the IAEA, Olli Heinonen. The original said ""Mr Heinonen's department's five-year investigation drew on Western intelligence to help to build the IAEA's case that Iran was working to develop a nuclear-armed missile. Tehran says the intelligence is forged and that its atomic work is for civilian purposes only.""

"Dear Mr Sketchley,
I am very sorry that this has not been dealt with sooner.
You are quite right. The relevant line should read: "The five-year investigation by Mr Heinonen's department drew on Western intelligence to help an IAEA inquiry into whether Iran had conducted research into developing a nuclear warhead for a missile.
This is a genuine mistake. We did not mean to say and are quite aware that the IAEA has never formally stated that Iran is making or trying to make nuclear weapons.  As we have reported, Mohammed ElBaradei specifically stated that there was no credible evidence of this.  
We apologise for the mistake. I have made the correction, with a note at the bottom of the story to recognise the mistake.
Regards and thanks,   
Tarik Kafala
Middle East Editor
BBC News website"

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