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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: thames_sider who wrote (100159)	6/4/2003 11:13:29 AM
From: mistermj	Read Replies (1) of 281500

HMS Ark Royal switches off BBC Richard Hargreaves of the News Tuesday April 8, 2003 media.guardian.co.uk HMS Ark Royal: sailors angered by BBC's war coverage Military leaders have axed the BBC from the nation's flagship amid claims of pro-Iraqi bias. The navy has switched off rolling news channel News 24 aboard HMS Ark Royal following weeks of grumbling from the crew. Sailors on the Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier currently in the Gulf have become increasingly disenchanted with the BBC's slant on the war. Ark Royal is one of a handful of taskforce ships to receive live TV directly from Britain. Rolling news and two entertainment channels are beamed into the warship as part of the navy's efforts to improve the crew's creature comforts. The sailors appreciate being kept in touch with home and world events but officers and ratings alike have been angered by the BBC's coverage of the war to date. A BBC correspondent has been on board the flagship. The crew has no gripe with his reports but they were particularly incensed by remarks presenters and commentators made about the carrier's Sea King tragedy a fortnight ago, when the BBC suggested poor levels of maintenance played a hand in the deaths of seven troops. Sailors also believe the BBC places more faith in Iraqi reports than information coming from British or coalition sources. "The BBC always takes the Iraqis' side," one senior rating complained. "It reports what they say as gospel but when it comes to us it questions and doubts everything the British and Americans are reporting. A lot of people on board are very unhappy." Ark Royal switched off News 24 on Sunday, replacing it with rival Sky News.

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