My recollection of events preceding the end of the Today programme essays by Frederick Forsyth and Will Self differs from that of Rod Liddle (Liddle 'ordered to sack Forsyth', February 3). I have told him so several times.
But for the benefit of your readers I felt the format and contributors were becoming tired and the slot needed refreshing. I talked to Radio 4 and found it shared my opinion, so I asked Rod to find new contributors or change the format. He failed to find anyone new so we opted for the second course of action, and instead of the essays, he commissioned the current "diary" slot which runs on Today every Saturday.
At no time did anyone in the BBC "hector" me about the columns, nor complain about the politics of either Forsyth or Self. They were both stimulating in a way for a time, but time passes and so do contributors for good editorial reasons... and so indeed do editors.
Stephen Mitchell
Head of Radio News, BBC
