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
- "Who we are: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism". Thebureauinvestigates.com. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- "Sony Radio Academy Awards 2006: nominations | Media | MediaGuardian". London: Guardian. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- "AIUK : Media Awards". Amnesty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- "Crisis at the BBC: Timeline of events". BBC News. 19 December 2012.
- Batty, David; Mitchell, Alexis (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC". The Guardian. London.
- "Lord McAlpine responds: statement in full". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 November 2012.
- Batty, David; Mitchell, Alexis (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC". The Guardian. London.
- Mendick, Robert; Hennessy, Patrick (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle quits as director-general over Newsnight fiasco". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- Mendick, Robert; Hennessy, Patrick (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle quits as director-general over Newsnight fiasco". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/angus-stickler-resigns-bureau-investigative-journalism-over-newsnight-documentary