Angus Stickler

Angus Stickler (born 1964) was the lead reporter for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism until his resignation in December 2012.[1] In 2006 he was named News Journalist of the Year at the 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards.[2] In 2011 he won the Thomson Reuters Europe award for the Bureau’s investigation into EU structural funds.[3] In 2011 he won an Amnesty International Media Award for his work on the Bureau's website.[4]

BBC Newsnight

Stickler made the headlines in November 2012 when an investigation he led for the BBC programme Newsnight was found to have falsely implicated a former senior Conservative politician in the North Wales child abuse scandal.[5]

The person who was the focus of the Newsnight broadcast, despite not being named, was widely identified on the internet as the former Conservative Party Treasurer Lord McAlpine.[6] Lord McAlpine issued a statement strongly denying the accusations.[7] This allegation was subsequently admitted by the BBC to be false.[8]

The broadcasting of the false claim led to the resignation of George Entwistle as Director-General of the BBC on 10 November 2012.[9] Lord Patten, Chairman of the BBC Trust, described the report as “unacceptable shoddy journalism”.[10]

Stickler resigned from the Bureau in light of the Newsnight report[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Who we are: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism". Thebureauinvestigates.com. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  2. ↑ "Sony Radio Academy Awards 2006: nominations | Media | MediaGuardian". London: Guardian. 2006-03-28. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "AIUK : Media Awards". Amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  5. ↑ "Crisis at the BBC: Timeline of events". BBC News. 2012-12-19.
  6. ↑ Batty, David; Mitchell, Alexis (2012-11-10). "George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC". The Guardian (London).
  7. ↑ "Lord McAlpine responds: statement in full". The Daily Telegraph (London). 2012-11-09.
  8. ↑ Batty, David; Mitchell, Alexis (2012-11-10). "George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC". The Guardian (London).
  9. ↑ Mendick, Robert; Hennessy, Patrick (2012-11-10). "George Entwistle quits as director-general over Newsnight fiasco". The Daily Telegraph (London).
  10. ↑ Mendick, Robert; Hennessy, Patrick (2012-11-10). "George Entwistle quits as director-general over Newsnight fiasco". The Daily Telegraph (London).
  11. ↑ http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/angus-stickler-resigns-bureau-investigative-journalism-over-newsnight-documentary