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Over half of Britons trust neither government nor BBC: Poll
London, Aug 19: Over half of Britons trust neither their government nor the BBC to tell the truth, and only six per cent find Prime Minister Tony Blair`s administration more believable than the public broadcaster, according to a poll published today.
London, Aug 19: Over half of Britons trust neither their government nor the BBC to tell the truth, and only six per cent find Prime Minister Tony Blair's administration more believable than the public broadcaster, according to a poll published today.
An ICM survey for the left-of-centre guardian daily
shows that while 52 per cent of people trust neither the
government nor the BBC, 36 per cent find the BBC more
believable.
Half the electorate also believe the government deliberately embellished its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction published last September in a bid to make its case for war on Saddam Hussein stronger, according to the poll.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,001 adults between Friday and Sunday, after the first week of evidence heard by Lord Hutton.
The senior judge is leading a judicial inquiry in London into the apparent suicide of government weapons expert David Kelly, the man reportedly at the centre of BBC claims that the Blair administration exaggerated intelligence data to bolster the case for war on Iraq in march.
The ICM poll found 68 per cent believed the government treated Kelly unfairly, with just eight per cent believing its treatment of the scientist, a biological weapons expert who apparently committed suicide after being named by the Ministry of Defence as the source of a BBC story, was fair.
However, the poll found that Blair's Labour Party had increased its lead over the Opposition Conservatives, with 37 per cent now saying they would vote for labour and 32 per cent for the Tories.
Bureau Report
Half the electorate also believe the government deliberately embellished its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction published last September in a bid to make its case for war on Saddam Hussein stronger, according to the poll.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,001 adults between Friday and Sunday, after the first week of evidence heard by Lord Hutton.
The senior judge is leading a judicial inquiry in London into the apparent suicide of government weapons expert David Kelly, the man reportedly at the centre of BBC claims that the Blair administration exaggerated intelligence data to bolster the case for war on Iraq in march.
The ICM poll found 68 per cent believed the government treated Kelly unfairly, with just eight per cent believing its treatment of the scientist, a biological weapons expert who apparently committed suicide after being named by the Ministry of Defence as the source of a BBC story, was fair.
However, the poll found that Blair's Labour Party had increased its lead over the Opposition Conservatives, with 37 per cent now saying they would vote for labour and 32 per cent for the Tories.
Bureau Report