Lord Dyson was rightly scathing of the Martin Bashir saga, but those calling for the corporation’s reform should first check their own ethics

There is no such thing as a flawless newsroom. Ask the late great Ben Bradlee, hero of Watergate, whose Washington Post had to hand back its Pulitzer after a reporter, Janet Cooke, was found to have invented an award-winning story. Ask former BBC director general Greg Dyke about Andrew Gilligan, whose early-morning imprecisions toppled both the DG and the chair.

Ask Howell Raines, whose brief spell as executive editor of the New York Times came to an abrupt end after an internal investigation found that a reporter, Jayson Blair, had been plagiarising and making stuff up. Ask the Independent, whose editorial halo was dented by Johann Hari, another plagiarist.

The story has been leapt on with some glee by people who do not wish the BBC well

Related: The Observer view on Lord Dyson’s report on the BBC’s Princess of Wales interview

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