BBC strategist who leaked 6 Music closure plans is identified
In February the BBC was embroiled in a row over the proposed closure of 6 Music and the Asian Network after an internal strategy document was leaked to The Times. The culprit has now been identified.
The culprit was a senior strategist within the organisation, who had access to and leaked details of BBC boss Mark Thompson's 'Putting Quality First' report, which included how Thompson was planning to axe digital music station 6 Music and the Asian Network and dramatically cut the amount of online pages the BBC produced in order to improve the quality of its output.
The review was scheduled to be released on 9 March but the strategist leaked details during February to The Times, which caught the BBC totally off guard and saw it take significant criticism over its plans to axe the radio stations and web content.
The BBC declined to identify the person responsible for the leak, but have confirmed a senior strategist has now left the company.
The BBC's strategy review is currently under public consultation at the BBC Trust until 25 May.