BBC apologizes to Queen Elizabeth over Abu Hamza revelation
September 26, 2012 -- Updated 0022 GMT (0822 HKT)
A BBC reporter revealed Queen Elizabeth was "upset" at lack of action over radical cleric Abu Hamza.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- BBC reporter reveals details of private conversation with Queen Elizabeth II
- Britain's queen 'pretty upset' at the failure to arrest cleric Abu Hamza
- Hamza convicted on terror charges in UK in 2006, may be extradited to U.S.
Usually private
conversations with members of Britain's royal family remain private. But
in an extraordinary breach of this convention on BBC Radio 4, security
correspondent Frank Gardner said the queen told him she had asked a
government official why Hamza remained at large during his days as the
imam of a mosque in London.
Accused UK terrorist extradited to U.S.
The revelation that the
queen had personally lobbied a government official over Hamza, convicted
in Britain for soliciting murder and inciting hatred in 2006, came as
Gardner was discussing Hamza's probable extradition to the U.S. on
terror charges.
Speaking to Today program
host James Naughtie, Gardner said: "Actually, I can tell you that the
queen was pretty upset that he was, this man was, there was no way to
arrest him. She couldn't understand why -- surely there must have been
some law he must have broken. Well in the end, sure enough there was. He
was eventually convicted and sentenced for 7 years for soliciting
murder and inciting racial hatred."
Naughtie, clearly taken
aback by Gardner's revelation of a private conversation he'd had with
the queen, called the disclosure a "corker" and said, "That's a
fascinating piece of information, Frank." Gardner replied: "Yes, I
thought I'd drop that in -- she told me."
Gardner said: "She spoke
to the home secretary at the time and said, 'surely this man must have
broken some laws, why is he still at large?'"
The queen rarely
expresses her opinions -- let alone political views -- in public. Her
role is to stay above politics, so Gardner's disclosure is a rare
insight into how she privately engaged with Britain's government on a
specific subject.
CNN's Royal Correspondent
Max Foster says the convention for anyone meeting the queen at a palace
event is that the conversation is private. He said: "If you accept the
invitation, you accept that anything said is off the record."
In a statement on its website,
the BBC wrote: "This morning on the Today programme our correspondent
Frank Gardner revealed details of a private conversation which took
place some years ago with the Queen."
"The conversation should
have remained private and the BBC and Frank deeply regret this breach
of confidence. It was wholly inappropriate. Frank is extremely sorry for
the embarrassment caused and has apologised to the Palace."
When reached for a comment, a Buckingham Palace spokesman told CNN: "We never comment on private conversations."
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