The BBC is an extraordinary national and global institution. Often one of the very few things people outside this country know about Britain is that it is the home of the BBC. The BBC's value lies not only in the organisation itself, but in its accumulated reputation, experience and goodwill, in its public service remit, and in its place at the centre of a vibrant broadcasting industry. It sets a standard in broadcasting quality, impartiality and independence that serves as a benchmark for others. For these reasons the BBC has a vast amount to contribute as an international standard of excellence in public service broadcasting. At a time when many media organisations are reducing their international coverage, relying on a few feeds and becoming more prone to crowd behaviour, there is a huge opportunity for the BBC to consolidate this global position. But the BBC also has a role as a beacon of enlightened values of openness, freedom of thought, toleration and diversity. As the world increasingly divides on ideological and sectarian grounds, it is vital more than ever today to preserve an educated public realm in which civilised debate and the mutually respectful exchange of ideas may flourish. What would it take to create another? It is very hard to imagine how it could be done. Yet this does not mean the BBC is beyond improvement, or secure from technological, financial or commercial challenge. First, its core activities are under serious commercial threat: from traditional competitors, from new online insurgents, from lower cost providers of access to high quality programming, among others. New technologies and ways of accessing programmes are pushing the BBC to consider long term alternatives to the licence fee. Secondly, the BBC is not well served by its often unwieldy bureaucracy, its internal politics, and a culture which has been criticised as arrogant and introspective. And finally, the BBC's Director General has argued that the licence fee is viable for the coming Charter period. But as commercial and technological pressures converge, as the BBC's market share continues to fall and a new generation consumes its media in innumerable new ways, there is the question whether or not the licence fee funding model can be sustained.

The BBC has a special status. It is established by Royal Charter, it is independent and its principal source of funding is a universal licence fee. We think that the current review of the BBC's Royal Charter, to which our report contributes, provides an opportunity to ensure that the BBC remains the keystone of British broadcasting, plays a central role in the wider creative industries in the United Kingdom and continues to be respected across the world. The 'Reithian Principles' - to inform, educate and entertain - should be reaffirmed as the mission statement of the BBC and, within the BBC itself, given greater prominence. As the starting point for a new accountability framework, the BBC should adopt Ofcom's four general Public Service Broadcasting purposes - informing our understanding of the world, stimulating knowledge and learning, reflecting UK cultural identity and representing diversity and alternative viewpoints. In recognition of its privileged status, we believe the BBC should set the gold standard amongst the broadcasters in fulfilling the public service broadcasting (PSB) purposes. It should be an exemplar of value-driven broadcasting. We also expect the BBC to make a particular commitment to reflecting the nations, regions and all the diverse communities of the UK. The BBC executive should establish a new set of values in the next Charter period that permeate through the BBC and are apparent in all the content it produces. This new framework should replace the current multiple layers of accountability which have emerged over the last decade. Purpose Remits and Purpose Priorities should be scrapped. Service licences should be retained, simplified, strengthened and leave no room for doubt about the contribution of each service to the BBC's overall mission and values. The service licences must also encourage creativity.

With correction slip dated June 2016. Dated May 2016 Web ISBN=9781474131681

This publication sets out the report of the inquiry by the five-member committee, chaired by Lord Butler, established in February 2004 to examine the quality of intelligence used as justification for UK military participation in the war against Iraq in March 2003. The inquirys remit was: i) to investigate discrepancies in the gathering, evaluation and use of intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) (including the September 2002 intelligence dossier which alleged Iraq was capable of deploying WMDs within 45 minutes), given the subsequent failure by the Iraq Survey Group to find WMDs in Iraq; and ii) to make recommendations for future practice, in the light of the difficulties of operating in countries of concern. The report focuses on structures, systems and processes rather than on the actions of individuals. Issues discussed include: the nature and use of intelligence; countries of concern other than Iraq and global trade; international terrorism and intelligence responses; counter-proliferation machinery; Iraqs WMD programmes since 1990 and intelligence assessments; the role of intelligence in assessing the legality of the war; validation of human intelligence sources; the links between Al Qaida and the Iraqi regime; the intelligence machinery including the work of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) and the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), and the machinery of government.

review of the BBCs royal Charter : 1st report of session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Evidence