There was a tree in the churchyard and as is traditional that tree was a large

There was a tree in the churchyard and, as is traditional, that tree was a large and stately yew, which had been planted in 1864. As from last week, it is a stump, having been felled on the orders of the vicar.
For this yew – in fact, any yew – was a veritable time bomb of personal risk, according to Mr Snuggs The berries contained poison pips Children could climb into its branches and fall off Pensioners might trip over its roots. Asked whether Andrew Gilligan’s allegations were mostly true, Mr Byford gave a steely reply: “Mostly true is not good enough for the BBC.”They could do with some of that spirit in Downing Street, but it will not happen under this Prime Minister. By prevaricating in the use of intelligence material, Mr Blair proved he was unfit to be PM
More from Bruce Anderson. The text for today, ladies and gentlemen of the congregation, comes from the parish of Fair Oaks and its vicar, the Rev David Snuggs. Finally – the strongest argument for his appointment – everyone in the BBC would be afraid of him.Chairman Kaufman ought to be re-inforced by a tough director general such as Andrew Neil, although the acting DG, Mark Byford, did his cause no harm yesterday on the Frost programme. He is aware that within a few years the TV-watching public will revolt against the licence fee.

He would insist that the BBC prepare for this by concentrating on what it does best. Unlike Greg Dyke, who seemed to think that his entire output should be instantly accessible to a glue-sniffing, 17-year-old on a sink estate, Mr Kaufman would insist that the BBC should produce high-quality programmes. He could still be a candidate for a knighthood and for a further promotion, to replace Sir Richard Dearlove as the head of MI6. Such considerations would never have influenced him, even “subconsciously”, as Lord Hutton might have put it. But it would be better if further JIC chairmen were slightly older, so that they would already have received a plenitude of patronage and promotion. “Wanted: a 60-year-old knighted curmudgeon” – not the sort of job specification Blairites enjoy drafting.They will now have to draft one for the BBC chairmanship. If they had not been so vigilant, a lot of people who are enjoying life today would now be maimed or dead.

The intelligence service also played a role in persuading Gaddafi to come to terms with the West. We should all be grateful for their existence.A few marginal points could be addressed. John Scarlett is one of the most honourable men I have met; the sort of public servant who is one of the glories of British public life. It is open to question, however, whether he should have allowed himself to become so close to the Downing Street machine Alastair Campbell described him as a “mate”. It is not a hanging offence to be a mate of Mr Campbell’s, but should the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee be quite so matey? Perhaps it would be better if the JIC were run by a more remote, curmudgeonly figure, so that no government would ever think of sexing up his material.There is a further point Mr Scarlett is 55. Though there ought to be an inquiry, it should be conducted in secret, by the intelligence services themselves.It is easy to criticise their work in Iraq; much harder to see how they could have done better Most intelligence sources fall into two categories. I cannot prove anything, but on the basis of little hints that I have received – which not even Andrew Gilligan would regard as sources – I believe that our intelligence services have made an invaluable contribution to the battle against terrorism since 11 September 2001.