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TV presenter Jill Dando was murdered as a protest against Nato operations in Serbia, an anonymous caller told the BBC in the days after her death.
The person also claimed the corporation's head of news was next in the killer's sights, it emerged today.
Confidential minutes from a BBC board of governors meeting in the aftermath of the shooting in April 1999 have been made public for the first time.
They reveal that “someone with a mid-European accent” phoned the TV studios confessing to the murder and announcing that Tony Hall, the head of news, would be the next
victim.
The BBC took the threat extremely seriously and stepped up security by asking all staff to wear name badges, introducing bag searches and scans for visitors, and tightening rules on escorting visitors around the premises.
Mr Hall and his family were moved from their home into a hotel but the governors said the police were not convinced there was any real
danger.
The minutes state: “The police were sceptical about the claim but had advised that care needed to be exercised.”
Detectives, however, honed in on loner Barry George, who was already known to them and had been seen near Dando's home in Fulham at the time of the shooting.
He was jailed for the murder in 2001 but his conviction was quashed last year, prompting criticism of the earlier investigation.
Reader views (7)
A serb on the telephone said he murdered this woman so it must be true ..Its time to stop the hate propaganda against serbs and serbia.
- Doug, toronto canada
The headline says "Serb" but no mention is made in the article of the caller's nationality. How did they know for sure?
- Jc, USA
A deranged murdering political protestor who makes just one anonymous phone call to one organisation, and doesn't try again when his claim is ignored rather than publicised? Yeah, right. A crank phone call, more likely.
- Nigel, London
Sadly, this remains a plausible story. It was reported at the time, but quickly dismissed because the police focused attention on a man known to them. Serbian anger at NATO and the UK in particular must have been incandescent at that time and they had no effective response available. Jill Dando was no mere "obscure TV presenter", she was the perfect embodiment of the English rose.
- Bloke, London
Frank of the Home Counties: Asorts of nutters and fanatics make up our World - unfortunately! I wouldn't be at all surprised if this were indeed true.
- Wq (Ex Pat), Outside UK
It never seemed credible that Barry George murdered Jill Dando. But the police needed somebody.
- Philip Jones, London UK
NATO attack Serbia so they execute an obscure English TV presenter????
Yeah OK, whatever.
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
