Israel Matzav

Balen Report won't be released

It's all over in the British Supreme Court. The Balen Report, which allegedly shows just how biased the government-funded BBC is against Israel, will not be released.

The BBC had argued it was exempt from releasing the report because it was "for the purposes of journalism, literature or art."

Four out of five of the Supreme Court judges ruled that the report was beyond the scope of the Freedom of Information Act, even if information was held only "partly for the purposes of journalism."

Lord Wilson ruled that if information was held "predominantly" for the purposes of journalism, it was outside the scope of the act, and he judged that to be the case with the Balen R eport.

They dismissed the argument of appellant barrister Tim Eicke QC, that the withholding of information would violate the European Convention on Human Rights Article 10, the right to receive and impart information.

The BBC said in a statement: "We welcome the Supreme Court's judgment, which upholds the rulings of other courts in this case, and will ensure that the BBC is afforded the space to conduct its journalistic activities freely.

"Independent journalism requires honest and open internal debate free from external pressures. This ruling enables us to continue to do that."

The Information Tribunal ruled in Mr Sugar's favour in 2005, ordering the BBC to release the report. But the decision was overturned by the High Court, and upheld by the Court of Appeal.

So much for 'freedom of information' in the UK. I wonder what would happened if someone stole the report. Is there a newspaper in Britain that would publish it?

Labels: Balen report, BBC, BBC bias

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:26 AM