BBC minutes show Dyke wanted job back

Newly-released minutes of the BBC Board of Governors have revealed that former Director General Greg Dyke asked for his job back after resigning over the Hutton report.

The documents, only released after a two-year campaign and an order by the freedom of information tribunal, describe how the governors responded to Dyke's pleas.

As Dyke waited outside the meeting on January 28 at Broadcasting House, they were told that he had the support of the BBC management. Simon Milner, the secretary to the board, explained that he had been contacted by Dyke after he was persuaded to leave. He quoted Dyke as saying: "I believe I have been mistreated and I want to be reinstated."

However, the board decided they could not bring him back after Richard Ryder, then the vice-chairman, said he would become a "lame duck". He added that Dyke's "stock in Whitehall was very low", and his relationship with culture minister Tessa Jowell "is very poor".

The minutes also shed light on a claim by Dyke that the Government leaned on the BBC after the Hutton report, forcing it to apologise for its report on the David Kelly affair. They reveal that Ryder, who took on Gavyn Davies' role as BBC chairman when he resigned, met Jowell on the day of his unreserved apology.

However, a spokeswoman for the BBC Trust insisted the meeting happened after the apology.