PANORAMA DRAMA

15-05-2007

Last night's Panorama was compulsory viewing if only because we knew that reporter John Sweeney lost his rag with the Scientologists he supposed to be exposing. Edward Cameron has seen the programme the Scientologists have made about the making of the programme about them.

Kirstie Alley asks: "Would you have sat with a Jew and called their religion a cult?"

The "Look Who's Talking" star's interview was one of a number of celebrity endorsements cut from last night's Panorama programme about Scientology following demands from the church's lawyers.

John Sweeney has been accused by the Church of Scientology of having violated 154 articles of the BBC's own code of conduct.

In response to Panorama the church's West Sussex-based Freedom Television issued 100,000 DVDs to journalists, MPs and others to give their side of the story.

Alley's comments are among a tiny selection shown by the defence, which instead focusses upon Sweeney's repeated questionning of whether they saw their religion as brainwashing or a cult.

Leah Brewin, of the US comedy King of Queens demands to know: "Is there any other religion that would put up with this kind of bigotry?"

But Sweeney insists his programme was based on normal journalistic practice.

The church uses CCTV footage and repeatedly claims Sweeney refused their invitations to see more of their premises. Unfortunately it never offers any actual proof of his refusals.

It claims he staged the incidents where he was left disappointed by the church not being available for comment, including turning round and walking in and out of the same building to get the best take. Again, no evidence is offered and neither were these shots included in the Panorama programme.

Various expert witnesses are called upon to criticise Sweeney, including psychiatrist Colin Ross, who claims that calling something 'brainwashing' is just a form of slander. Well done at least for approaching a psychiatrist, a member of a profession Scientology wants to see eradicated.

Chris Frost of the NUJ also gives his opinion in his capacity as the Ethics chair. But neither he nor Robin Aitken, the former BBC journalist who has previously accused the corporation of religious bias, ever mention Sweeney by name, nor do they discuss his report.

It is only investigative journalist Ted Hynds, and I'll confess I've never heard of him, who only critiques the ethical policy of approaching a big organization and demanding to speak to the chief executive.

Admittedly Sweeney does himself few favours by rolling up asking to speak to the church leader David Miscavige, something Sweeney never said he'd tried to do in his own report.

To prove this point the church went to the BBC to ask to speak to director general Mark Thompson and were told to call the press office. Likewise they were shown the door by the Archbishop of Canterbury's staff.

Sweeney's outburst, made famous by YouTube, is shown in terrifying close up by the Scientologists who do not show Tommy Davis, the offspring of Fatal Attraction bunny boiler victim Anne Archer, standing in the face of Sweeney and shouting him down.

Finally the church accuses Sweeney of staging a protest outside their London premises, even claiming to have found documents proving it, but offers nothing to show the viewer apart from an unconvincing computer graphic.

In the literature which accompanies the Scientologists' DVD, narrated by a familiar but uncredited voice, Freedom TV editor Graeme Wilson said: "While there are undoubtedly many current BBC program makers and executives who do hold high standards in their production output, there are also too many instances of unfairness, bias and outright manufacturing of 'facts' in order to satisfy a preconceived story line."

"The push for ratings in a highly competitive media world must not be satisfied by relegating fairness and accuracy to the level of tabloid stunts."

In the Scientology video Sweeney doesn't come off any worse than he did in his own edit, apart from right at the very beginning where he appears to accuse the BBC of giving 'morons' very high salaries.

But let's face it, who hasn't thought that about their bosses? And it's not like journalists don't try and get people on side with a bit of dirt of their own first before going in for the killer question. It shows a bit of mutual trust, a willingness to confide in return for the same.

Even the Scientologists couldn't really accuse Sweeney of being anything other than insistent on asking the one question they couldn't stomach: Are you a cult?

Unfortunately neither film offers us a satisfactory answer.