U.K. committee grills journalists over financial crisis reporting
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 | 3:14 PM ET
CBC News
Five of Britain's top financial journalists appeared at a government hearing in London on Wednesday, rejecting accusations that their reporting caused panic and helped escalate the financial crisis in the U.K.
An independent committee comprising members of the British parliament have been investigating the U.K.'s banking crisis and questioning different players in the industry.
Journalists from the BBC, the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, Sky News and the Guardian said that even if they had held back their stories about failing banks, the problems at the institutions would have existed.
BBC business editor Robert Peston, who broke news about the failure of British bank Northern Rock in 2007, came under particular scrutiny. Members of the committee suggested that his reporting sparked a public panic.
If the story had not run, "I am not sure the world would have been any different," Peston said.
"Had Robert delayed it for a couple of days, Northern Rock would still not be a solvent bank," said Jeff Randall of Sky News.
The journalists said the media had acted responsibly in its financial reporting.
"Regulating the press will not solve the problem," said Lionel Barber of the Financial Times.
"This is a matter of catastrophic failure of management of risk, a failure of regulation. You should not be looking at the press as in any way responsible."
The committee, which has already questioned hedge fund managers, auditors and credit agencies, is scheduled to hear from bank executives next week.
With files from the Associated Press
