Examination of Witnesses (Questions 140-159)
MR STEPHEN
LOTINGA
19 MAY 2009
Q140 Mr Llwyd: You volunteered it
without his asking?
Mr Lotinga: Yes.
Q141 Mr Llwyd: Forgive me asking
this question, but I think I should. Were you paid for this at
all?
Mr Lotinga: No, I was not paid.
Mr Llwyd: Thank you.
Q142 Mr Dismore: I just wanted to
ask you about the date. You wrote that you discussed the 6 March
date with Mr Sweney after you had got an email from Mr Smith on
23 February.
Mr Lotinga: Yes.
Q143 Mr Dismore: Before the article
appeared on Guardian on-line.
Mr Lotinga: I am sorry?
Q144 Mr Dismore: I think that follows.
Mr Lotinga: I am not sure of the
date of the email from Tom—Mr Smith.
Q145 Mr Dismore: Why did you do that?
Mr Lotinga: The journalist in
question had asked me for the date in relation to when the report
may appear.
Q146 Mr Dismore: Did you ask Mr Smith
if he had any information on the likely date of the report?
Mr Lotinga: I did, yes, specifically
the date for the report to come out.
Q147 Mr Dismore: The 6 March date
came from him, did it?
Mr Lotinga: It did, yes. I believe
I have provided an email that makes that plain.
Q148 Mr Dismore: So the reference
to the publication of the report on 6 March written by Mr Sweney
came from you based on what Mr Smith had told you?
Mr Lotinga: Yes.
Q149 Mr Mullin: Mr Smith has told
us that you have admitted disclosing details of the DCMS Heads
of Report to journalists—plural. Did you pass the document
to any other journalists?
Mr Lotinga: No, I did not.
Q150 Mr Mullin: Did you pass any
of the other documents that have passed through your hands over
the months to any other journalists?
Mr Lotinga: I have previously
passed a select committee document to a journalist, yes.
Q151 Mr Mullin: Which select committee
document?
Mr Lotinga: It was the Select
Committee's Report on the BBC's Annual Report.
Q152 Mr Mullin: This was before publication
presumably?
Mr Lotinga: It was a few days
before publication. It did not appear in the newspaper.
Q153 Mr Mullin: Who was the journalist?
Mr Lotinga: He is a Times
journalist, Dan Sabbagh.
Q154 Chairman: Can I just ask where
did you get that from?
Mr Lotinga: Again, I received
that report the same route.
Q155 Mr Mullin: Any other journalist?
Mr Lotinga: No.
Q156 Mr Mullin: So the only two journalists
with whom you have had contact about select committee papers were
the Times journalist you mentioned and Mr Sweney?
Mr Lotinga: The only two instances
where I have passed documentation. I obviously talk to journalists
all the time about select committee matters, but specifically
the document and the contents of the document, those were the
two instances.
Q157 Mr Mullin: You talk to journalists
all the time about select committee matters?
Mr Lotinga: In the generality,
yes.
Q158 Mr Mullin: You have had the
advantage over a period of some months of seeing documents before
they are in the public domain?
Mr Lotinga: Yes.
Q159 Mr Mullin: So you have talked
to other journalists about the confidential parts of those?
Mr Lotinga: I have not talked
to other journalists about the contents of the papers, no, because
if, for example, the Committee is looking at a matter in relation
to licensing then I will talk to them about the party's position
on licensing.
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