Britain’s defence chiefs lift ban on ITN

The British Ministry of Defence has lifted its ban on Britain’s Independent Television News (ITN) being allowed access to frontline troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, resolving a spat, spokesmen for both sides said.

ITN, which provides news to ITV, Britain’s main commercial broadcaster, was told last week that its reporters were no longer allowed to “embed” with British military units. The ban followed a row over ITN’s coverage of the medical treatment of British troops.

“ITN has today been given assurances by the MoD that there are no further restrictions on access by ITN journalists to embedded reporting facilities to cover British military operations in Afghanistan and other conflict zones,” an ITN spokesman said in a statement. ”ITN has given reassurances to the MoD that it will always report in a fair and accurate manner.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said they regarded the matter as closed and wished to move on. ”We have discussed this matter with ITN who have issued a statement which we were already aware of and agree with,” he said. The row blew up late last month and left the MoD saying it did not feel able to reassure service personnel “that they can deal with ITN with confidence”.

The news report in question focused on the medical treatment of wounded personnel flown back to a hospital in Britain. Unnamed MoD sources told The Times newspaper that it raised concerns over images showing identifiable wounded soldiers arriving in Britain, without obtaining permission from the men, possibly causing their families distress. The issue of wounded troops being treated in mainstream hospitals rather than in military facilities has been a hot topic in British media over recent weeks.

Source: Media Network, AFP

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