British civil servant and Permanent Secretary of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at the time of giving evidence. Appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for public service in the 2013 Birthday Honours, in particular for his service relating to the Olympic Games in London. He was asked at the Inquiry about his Department's handling of the proposed bid by News Corporation for BskyB in 2012, and his own involvement in the appointment of special adviser Adam Smith, who enjoyed a close relationship with News Corporation.
Born 1948, Virginia Bottomley was a British Conservative Party politician and former Secretary of State for Health and for Culture, Media and Sport. Stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election, and was offered a peerage later that year. Bottomley gave evidence to the Inquiry on the DCMS at the time of her appointment in 1995 and of debate about the 1990 Calcutt Report and issues of privacy and regulation.
British Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Exeter since 1997 and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2009 to 2010. Before entering politics he worked as a BBC Radio reporter and journalist. Bradshaw gave evidence as the recently departed Culture Secretary and argued that self-regulation required some statutory underpinning. He commended the submission of the Media Standards Trust.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public-service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in London and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation, and the largest in terms of number of employees. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record television services.