BBC's Dyke in furious attack on Blair 'coterie'

Greg Dyke, the BBC's director general, has accused "a small coterie" around Tony Blair of putting British television at risk by opening the gates for foreign multinationals to buy up ITV.

In an extraordinary outburst, which shook delegates to the Royal Television Society's convention in Cambridge, Mr Dyke added that it is "bullshit" to claim - as the Government does - that the introduction of US managerial skills would mean better programmes on British television screens.

His furious attack suggests that the BBC's management is in no mood to sue for peace in its long-running row with the Government, despite the setbacks the corporation suffered during a difficult week at the Hutton inquiry.

As the inquiry enters its final week of public hearings, The Independent on Sunday has learnt that Andrew Gilligan, the journalist whose reports were the original trigger for the inquiry, is unlikely to broadcast on Radio 4's Today programme again.

A senior BBC source conceded for the first time last night that Mr Gilligan's links with the Ministry of Defence have been too badly damaged for him to return to his old job. They also fear that he will be a permanent target of newspapers hostile to the BBC, such as those owned by Rupert Murdoch.

While ministers and government advisers insist that there is no connection between the row over Mr Gilligan's journalism and legislation affecting the future of television, BBC managers see the issues as linked in the battle for public support.

They believe Labour's defeat in last week's by-election demonstrates that there is more public support for the BBC than for the Government.

Mr Dyke directed his fury yesterday at the Government's Communications Act, which received royal assent two months ago, overturning previous legislation that banned foreign companies from bidding for British television franchises. It is now widely expected that ITV will be owned by a US media giant such as Viacom, the parent company of CBS and MTV, by the end of the year.

Mr Dyke fears that an "American" ITV will put British culture at risk. He told an audience of the country's most senior broadcasting executives: "I was passionately opposed to the change in the law that allowed American media companies to buy ITV and Channel 5. I think it was nonsense to have done it. I don't think it came from anywhere ... other than a small coterie in Downing Street."

He claimed that having protected British broadcasting from American ownership for many years, the Government had "given away" this protection "for nothing - because someone in Downing Street at some stage thought it was a good idea. All that bullshit we were given that it will bring in cash and investment ... is all rubbish".

Mr Dyke did not name the members of the "coterie", but they certainly include Mr Blair's former adviser on media industries, Ed Richards, who now works for the regulator, Ofcom. Alastair Campbell, Downing Street's outgoing director of communications, is also likely to have been on Mr Dyke's list of suspects.

The Government insists he is wrong to direct rage at Downing Street, because the decision was actually taken by the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell. An aide to Ms Jowell described Mr Dyke's comments as "very odd".

He added: "In the past, he has been more critical of ITV and their management than the Government has ever been - then he says a change of ownership will make things worse.

"We take the view that it's not the ownership that matters but the regulations and licence and the way they are enforced. So our position is logical. We can't see where the logic of his position is."