Angus Stickler

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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 UACES/Thomson Reuters Reporting Europe prize 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 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 15 November 2012.
  2. "Sony Radio Academy Awards 2006: nominations | Media | MediaGuardian". London: Guardian. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  3. "Winner Announced". 30 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2022 via Time Back Machine.
  4. "AIUK : Media Awards". Amnesty.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  5. "Crisis at the BBC: Timeline of events". BBC News. 19 December 2012.
  6. Batty, David; Mitchell, Alexis (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC". The Guardian. London.
  7. "Lord McAlpine responds: statement in full". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 November 2012.
  8. Batty, David; Mitchell, Alexis (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle resigns as director general of the BBC". The Guardian. London.
  9. Mendick, Robert; Hennessy, Patrick (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle quits as director-general over Newsnight fiasco". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  10. Mendick, Robert; Hennessy, Patrick (10 November 2012). "George Entwistle quits as director-general over Newsnight fiasco". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  11. "Angus Stickler resigns from Bureau of Investigative Journalism over Newsnight documentary". 11 December 2012.