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Channel 4 Dispatches plays safe on corruption

R.A.McCartney | 05.11.2007 02:11 | Analysis | Anti-militarism | Other Press

Last Monday Channel 4's Dispatches broadcast a tired old story about corruption in Africa. In contrast, it has refused to make a program about fraud on UK government arms contracts, and the extraordinary favours government ministers and civil servants have done for companies accused of such fraud.

I was disgusted when I saw “How To Get Ahead In Africa” (Channel 4 Dispatches, Monday 29 October 2007). It was a worthy enough program, but there was absolutely nothing in it that hasn't been broadcast umpteen times before. The reason for my disgust was that back in May 2007 Dispatches refused to make a program about fraud on UK government arms procurement contracts. This would have highlighted the way civil servants, and government ministers from both parties, have protected arms companies accused of fraud. I eventually published some of this material on Indymedia (see “Thatcher gave Pergau Dam arms company “unjustifiable” £300m contract” 2 October 2007). No corporate news organisation has ever published this material.

The MOD's Procurement Budget is around £16 billion a year (see Ministry of Defence Sustainable Development Action Plan 2007-12). In addition, in 2006/7 it spent more than £3 billion over its budget on procurement. The MOD's spending on procurement therefore dwarfs the £1.25 billion the Department for International Development is aiming to give in aid to Africa for 2007/8 (see  http://www.dfid.gov.uk/countries/africa/). Obviously the potential for fraud and corruption is far greater in MOD procurement. In my experience, it seems to be as common as speeding on the motorways. It should be treated as a far more important story.

There is a great deal which Dispatches could have done to emphasise the contemporary relevance of this subject. They have the resources to carry out surveys of people working in the arms industry. Library footage and vox pop interviews would also add impact on TV.

This would've been an appropriate time to broadcast the documentary. On 20 November 1987 Sir Tim Sainsbury told the House of Commons that changes to the specification had increased the cost of the BATES project by less than 1.5%, and that the company had to deliver on time and to budget. In fact, these changes had already nearly doubled the price and it eventually tripled to £300 million. Dispatches broadcast its program about African corruption on 29 October, exactly three weeks short of the 20th anniversary of that enormous lie.

The only thing which can be said in favour of broadcasting the program about African corruption is that it won't upset anyone. It was boring, but safe. On the other hand, exposing the truth about Ministry of Defence weapons procurement would certainly have upset a lot of powerful people: politicians, the MOD, the arms industry itself, and probably big trade unions with members in the MOD and the arms industry.

In 2000 I met Antony Barnett, then working for The Observer, but now working for Dispatches, to give him information about fraud on Ministry of Defence contracts. He persuaded me to publicly reveal my identity in order make it a bigger story. This hasn't worked out well for me, and frankly, it didn't even make the front page in The Observer. It seems despicable to me that I didn't even get a response when I put my proposal to him.

News organisations often claim that they play an important role in a democratic system. They are supposed to expose corruption, incompetence, and abuse of power. This is an outstanding example of the corporate media's failure to live up to those lofty claims.

R.A.McCartney
- Homepage: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r.a.mccartney/

Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

I quite liked the Channel4 documentary

05.11.2007 18:35

I quite liked the documentary on fraud in Africa. I thought it was really impressive that it was narrated by a journalist from Sierra Leone and I was shocked to find out that Development Aid just basically goes into non-existant organisations whereas the local orphanage doesn't get anything, and if they do, they are visited by a lot of weird people frightening them into giving them a lot of money.

What I would have found quite interesting would have been to not pay the fraud money and then see what happens. And I think it was a bit revealing that the journalist did not speak the local language when he tried to build the house in the slums.

I don't think it is logical nor fair to equalise and compare the two stories; your personal story vs. the one shown on TV.

Factual documentary making seems to me also to follow weird rules, sometimes it seems the commissioner picks out the filmmaker whom (s)he likes best or whose personality they get on best with, especially on whom they can impose the most editorial narrative according to their taste. Sometimes they also just want to have things done in one particular way, and if you don't obey you don't get the money.
Like if they want to exaggerate, or not focus on the gist of the problem at hand or if they fear legal problems.
I don't think there is any connection between your story and the one shown on TV to be fair.

I am also disappointed that documentary videos I make or pitch are not getting commissioned. However, I know that is partly because I am political and don't allow editorial interference in a way that makes the topic crazily more entertaining, exaggerates, makes the subjects look stupid, de-politicises it, or follows established rules of documentary film making. Apart from that I don't mind using copyrighted material or the most poignant music available and its always trying to hit hard at the capitalist system.

ab


Response to "ab"

07.11.2007 22:17

I wish “ab” had stated whether or not he is Antony Barnett.

This, and the other Indymedia article I refer to, are not about me. Obviously I have a personal interest, but to suggest it is my “personal story” is to trivialise the issues involved.

- UK government spending on weapons procurement is 15 times as much as aid to Africa, and the potential for fraud and corruption is correspondingly greater.

- This country doesn't have effective systems for dealing with this sort of fraud and corruption.

- Based on my own experience in several companies over a twenty year period, plus the public confession of the former head of British Aerospace, I believe fraud is common on UK government arms contracts.

- The evidence I've published on Indymedia proves government ministers from both parties have protected arms companies accused of fraud on UK government contracts.

- The corporate media are not prepared to report on this subject, so the general public remains ignorant. Dispatches preferred to do a program which said nothing new about corruption in Africa.

R.A.McCartney


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