BBC overhaul in wake of Hutton

Wholesale changes to the BBC's journalism were unveiled today in a bid to ensure it never again suffers a crisis similar to that triggered by the Hutton report.

TV and radio journalists will be banned from using live broadcasts to break controversial stories and lawyers will be a routine fixture in newsrooms, an internal inquiry by the corporation concluded.

Director-general Greg Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies were forced to quit after Lord Hutton - in his inquiry into the death of government weapons scientist David Kelly - accused the BBC of failures over its claim that Downing Street had knowingly "sexed up" its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The reporter who made the original report, former Radio 4 defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan, was also forced to quit.

Today's internal BBC report by Ronald Neil says no reporter should be allowed to make highly controversial claims in a live " twoway" broadcast with a studio presenter, as Gilligan did.

Such live exchanges are " inappropriate for breaking stories containing serious and potentially defamatory allegations", the report said. Lord Hutton was scathing about Gilligan's admission that he had attributed to Dr Kelly allegations that in fact were his own interpretations. The report says: "Clear principles and procedures should be adopted when making serious allegations to ensure that it is clear to the audience who is making the allegation - the BBC or a third party."

The report calls for "a system and a culture that encourages fast clarification and correction". It recommends the establishment of a new journalism college to improve accuracy.

New director- general Mark Thompson welcomed the report today, saying: "The BBC does not have the public's trust as of right; it has to earn and maintain it."