BREAKING: The 'secret' list of the BBC 28 is now public – let's call it 'TwentyEightGate'

UPDATES ARE CONTINUOUSLY BEING ADDED at the end of this story. Check below.

WUWT readers may recall this post last week:

The Secret 28 Who Made BBC ‘Green’ Will Not Be Named

The BBC pits six lawyers against one questioning blogger, Tony Newbery of Harmless Sky, who was making an FOI request for the 28 names. In the process, the judge demonstrates he has partisan views on climate change.

Now, thanks to the Wayback machine and we can now read the list that the BBC fought to keep secret. [Damn those mischevious bloggers 😉 ]

This list has been obtained legally. (link to Wayback document.) My heartiest congratulations to Maurizo for his excellent sleuthing!

Maurizo writes: This is for Tony, Andrew, Benny, Barry and for all of us Harmless Davids.

The list from: January 26th 2006, BBC Television Centre, London

Specialists:

Robert May, Oxford University and Imperial College London

Mike Hulme, Director, Tyndall Centre, UEA

Blake Lee-Harwood, Head of Campaigns, Greenpeace

Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen

Michael Bravo, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge

Andrew Dlugolecki, Insurance industry consultant

Trevor Evans, US Embassy

Colin Challen MP, Chair, All Party Group on Climate Change

Anuradha Vittachi, Director, Oneworld.net

Andrew Simms, Policy Director, New Economics Foundation

Claire Foster, Church of England

Saleemul Huq, IIED

Poshendra Satyal Pravat, Open University

Li Moxuan, Climate campaigner, Greenpeace China

Tadesse Dadi, Tearfund Ethiopia

Iain Wright, CO2 Project Manager, BP International

Ashok Sinha, Stop Climate Chaos

Andy Atkins, Advocacy Director, Tearfund

Matthew Farrow, CBI

Rafael Hidalgo, TV/multimedia producer

Cheryl Campbell, Executive Director, Television for the Environment

Kevin McCullough, Director, Npower Renewables

Richard D North, Institute of Economic Affairs

Steve Widdicombe, Plymouth Marine Labs

Joe Smith, The Open University

Mark Galloway, Director, IBT

Anita Neville, E3G

Eleni Andreadis, Harvard University

Jos Wheatley, Global Environment Assets Team, DFID

Tessa Tennant, Chair, AsRia

BBC attendees:

Jana Bennett, Director of Television

Sacha Baveystock, Executive Producer, Science

Helen Boaden, Director of News

Andrew Lane, Manager, Weather, TV News

Anne Gilchrist, Executive Editor Indies & Events, CBBC

Dominic Vallely, Executive Editor, Entertainment

Eleanor Moran, Development Executive, Drama Commissioning

Elizabeth McKay, Project Executive, Education

Emma Swain, Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual

Fergal Keane, (Chair), Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Fran Unsworth, Head of Newsgathering

George Entwistle, Head of TV Current Affairs

Glenwyn Benson, Controller, Factual TV

John Lynch, Creative Director, Specialist Factual

Jon Plowman, Head of Comedy

Jon Williams, TV Editor Newsgathering

Karen O’Connor, Editor, This World, Current Affairs

Catriona McKenzie, Tightrope Pictures catriona@tightropepictures.com

BBC Television Centre, London (cont)

Liz Molyneux, Editorial Executive, Factual Commissioning

Matt Morris, Head of News, Radio Five Live

Neil Nightingale, Head of Natural History Unit

Paul Brannan, Deputy Head of News Interactive

Peter Horrocks, Head of Television News

Peter Rippon, Duty Editor, World at One/PM/The World this Weekend

Phil Harding, Director, English Networks & Nations

Steve Mitchell, Head Of Radio News

Sue Inglish, Head Of Political Programmes

Frances Weil, Editor of News Special Events

For those who don’t know what this is about, read the back story here.

Here is the backup link to the original document just in case the original disappears:

Real World Brainstorm Sep 2007 background (PDF)

============================================================

UPDATE: Now this Climategate 2.0 email makes more sense, as they’ve just been carrying water for CRU and the eco-NGO’s all along. The meeting with the 28 was just a pep rally. From: this WUWT post:

BBC’s Kirby admission to Phil Jones on “impartiality”

Alex Kirby in email #4894 writing about the BBC’s “neutrality”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

date: Wed Dec  8 08:25:30 2004

from: Phil Jones <p.jones@uea.xx.xx>

subject: RE: something on new online.

to: “Alex Kirby” <alex.kirby@bbc.xxx.xx>

At 17:27 07/12/2004, you wrote:

Yes, glad you stopped this — I was sent it too, and decided to

spike it without more ado as pure stream-of-consciousness rubbish. I can well understand your unhappiness at our running the other piece. But we are constantly being savaged by the loonies for not giving them any coverage at all, especially as you say with the COP in the offing, and being the objective impartial (ho ho) BBC that we are, there is an expectation in some quarters that we will every now and then let them

say something. I hope though that the weight of our coverage makes it clear that we think they are talking through their hats.

—–Original Message—–

Prof. Phil Jones

Climatic Research Unit

BBC and “impartiality”…”ho, ho” indeed.

UPDATE: ‘TwentyEightGate’ was coined by RoyFOMR in comments. I liked it enough to put in the title.

UPDATE3 –  Barry Woods writes in an email to me:

Don’t forget Mike Hulme Climategate email. why he funded CMEP, to keep sceptics OFF BBC airwaves… (below)

Mike Hulme:

“Did anyone hear Stott vs. Houghton on Today, radio 4 this morning? Woeful stuff really.

This is one reason why Tyndall is sponsoring the Cambridge Media/Environment Programme to starve this type of reporting at source.” (email 2496)

let us also not forget, that Roger Harrabin BBC & CMEP – (and Greenpeace Bill Hare) were also on the Tyndall board from 2002 to at least Nov 2005.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/11/27/climategate-2-impartiality-at-the-bbc/

When did Roger Harrabin step down from Tyndall advisory board?

(and he no made no mention, when reporting Climategate, of connections)

Tyndall were funding CMEP seminars for years to persuade the BBC, so not just that seminar, but years worth of lobbying

UPDATE4: Bishop Hill makes this excerpt from correspondence the “quote of the day”:

We now know that the BBC decided to abandon balance in its coverage of climate on the advice of a small coterie of green activists, including the campaign director of Greenpeace. This shows that the “shoddy journalism” of Newsnight’s recent smear was no “lapse” of standards at all. BBC news programs have for years been poorly checked recitations of the work of activists.

UPDATE5: Maurizo has added some analysis.

Summary for those without much time to read it all: Why the List of Participants to the BBC CMEP Jan 2006 Seminar is important

http://omnologos.com/why-the-list-of-participants-to-the-bbc-cmep-jan-2006-seminar-is-important/

UPDATE 6: Maurizo asked to add this –

I have not “given” the 28Gate list any importance. In fact, not one of the bloggers and journalists and commenters has “given” the 28Gate list any importance. It has been the BBC that GAVE IMPORTANCE TO 28GATE by spending so much money on lawyers. Therefore, 28Gate is important.

Get notified when a new post is published.
Subscribe today!
5 1 vote
Article Rating
529 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
temp
November 12, 2012 3:50 pm

Specialists:
Andy Atkins, Advocacy Director
Blake Lee-Harwood, Head of Campaigns, Greenpeace
O yeah thats some “specialists” right there…
Trevor Evans, US Embassy <—- why is this guy there?

November 12, 2012 3:51 pm

Well Entwistle has now gone in a storm of controversy all about shoddy journalism, He was obviously promoted from Head of Current Affairs to Director General
“Mr Entwistle, who stood down on Saturday night after just 54 days in the job, left the corporation with a £450,000 lump sum on top of his £877,000 pension. The payment amounts to £8,333 for every day he spent as director-general. ”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9673784/George-Entwistle-was-paid-double-to-go-quietly.html

Lew Skannen
November 12, 2012 3:52 pm

Experts? Experts in advocacy by the look of most of them.
Well done Mr Morabito.
Another well earned blow to the putrid BBC.

November 12, 2012 3:53 pm

Where are the scientists?

john
November 12, 2012 3:53 pm

Some of the “Specialists” seem more like heads of pressure and self interest groups……………

Kev-in-Uk
November 12, 2012 3:53 pm

absolutely gobsmacked – well done Maurizio! So now, we need to find out why some of these people were involved!

Kev-in-Uk
November 12, 2012 3:54 pm

The BBC – Bloated Barstewards Corporation! I am ashamed to be British!

Latimer Alder
November 12, 2012 3:57 pm

This was just about the BBC’s ‘A’ list of managers at the time. Not just a few middle rankers.
Amazing that they all found the time to spend a full day on this topic. And it explains why the BBC’s pre-Copenhagen coverage in 2009 was so vastly over-hyped….and such an embarrassment when it was the fiasco we all fondly remember.
There must be good grounds to suggest that all of the BBC’s participants were acting in contravention of the BBC’s Charter (its ‘statutory Rules of Engagement’) by organising such a one-sided seminar and acting upon the results.
Immense kudos to omnologos for outwitting the best ‘minds’ of both the BBC and their expensive lawyers.

November 12, 2012 3:57 pm

Ashok Sinha, Stop Climate Chaos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashok_Sinha
Another climate scientist you can’t argue with.
More like stop the AGW Boll0%^s

cui bono
November 12, 2012 3:59 pm

BBC Head of Comedy??

Mike
November 12, 2012 3:59 pm

Wow! Maurizio just destroyed the BBC. For years they have claimed their biased coverage of climate news was based on scientific advice from the best scientists. That is a total and utter lie. It is from activists and pressure groups. The list of BBC lies just grows and grows

Jim
November 12, 2012 4:00 pm

Jon Plowman, Head of Comedy?
How apt!

eqibno
November 12, 2012 4:00 pm

Jon Plowman, Head of Comedy
Really????? Well, it is a farce, after all…

richardscourtney
November 12, 2012 4:01 pm

Friends:
I am copying this from the other thread because I genuinely would like an answer.
Richard
————
richardscourtney says:
November 12, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Dodgy Geezer:
Thankyou for the list from Maurizio which you provide at November 12, 2012 at 3:29 pm in the link
http://omnologos.com/full-list-of-participants-to-the-bbc-cmep-seminar-on-26-january-2006/
I have a question:
These participants are listed among “Specialists:”
Blake Lee-Harwood, Head of Campaigns, Greenpeace
Trevor Evans, US Embassy
Anuradha Vittachi, Director, Oneworld.net
Andrew Simms, Policy Director, New Economics Foundation
Claire Foster, Church of England
Saleemul Huq, IIED
Li Moxuan, Climate campaigner, Greenpeace China
Tadesse Dadi, Tearfund Ethiopia
Ashok Sinha, Stop Climate Chaos
Andy Atkins, Advocacy Director, Tearfund
Anita Neville, E3G
Tessa Tennant, Chair, AsRia
Why?
Richard

PaulH
November 12, 2012 4:01 pm

An interesting assortment of specialists in that list. I wonder what qualifications are required to be deemed “a specialist”? ;->
There are some affiliations I am not familiar with. For example, who are Tearfund, E3G, and Open University? Of course there are the usual, obvious, rent seekers: Greenpeace, New Economics Foundation, Stop Climate Chaos, Television for the Environment, etc. No wonder the BBC wanted to obscure the bias.

November 12, 2012 4:02 pm

Move aside, Bernstein. Move aside, Woodward.
Tonight, I am you.

Jeff
November 12, 2012 4:03 pm

Claire Foster, Church of England
huh?
Methinks that if they spent less time on saving the earth and more time on saving souls,
the Church of England wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in…..they need to focus on the warming
that, er, CO2 won’t put out….

LJH
November 12, 2012 4:03 pm

So glad to see that the Head of Comedy was included.

pat
November 12, 2012 4:03 pm

as big as Climategate. Tony Newbery and Maurizio should be on every TV news broadcast today. Newbery should return to the Tribunal with the list.
keep this sticky as u say anthony. BBC Meltdown brought on by their own arrogance.
three cheers for those who have defended the scientific method.

Pat
November 12, 2012 4:05 pm

Wow… was there actually a scientist in the room???

viffer
November 12, 2012 4:05 pm

This, from our ‘impartial’ national and world-wide broadcaster. In addition to it’s demonstrable pathetic leadership and governance, not to mention the alleged turning of a blind eye (Pudsey?) to the abuse of minors on its premises, seems designed to provoke a mass withholding of the licence tax which funds this malfeasance.
Impartial my arse. This is cultural Marxism in action, funded by the UK taxpayers. I’d like to know if any of our money paid for the travel and subsistence for the delegates at these Eco-Taliban wank-fests.
Good find. Well done, and very well timed.

Kev-in-Uk
November 12, 2012 4:07 pm

I am quietly fuming – which is annoying as I have to go to bed with this on my mind now – and be up in 4 hours or so for a long day of hard graft. This needs mass media exposure an explanation for Joe Public in the UK.
sure the BBC can perhaps take a slight bias on some issues (e.g reporting Falkands War or something ‘British’) but this is a hundred steps too far in my opinion. This suggests downright political manipulation and deliberate misinformation to the masses………..

Latimer Alder
November 12, 2012 4:08 pm

Secret clip of omnologos celebrating. His part is played by Josh Lyman

November 12, 2012 4:09 pm

Here’s Dadi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4947346.stm
A know nothing charity worker. This is ridiculous the caliber is so low I’m surprised they never approached me as I live in London.

Manfred
November 12, 2012 4:09 pm

A nicely balanced and well rounded list of individuals guaranteed to hold Aunties place in the media firmament, at the infinite generosity of the British taxpayer. Objective, accurate, critical, impartial, thorough – professional ‘green-washing’ at its elite best. Along with Jimmy Saville and the recent ‘Newsnight’ debacle, they appear to be performing consistently at the very least.
/sarc

1 2 3 22