London: British correspondent Andrew Gilligan, whose report that the Government "sexed up" a crucial dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction sparked the row between Downing Street and the public broadcaster, has resigned.

In a statement issued last night (Jan 30, 2004), 35-year-old Gilligan conceded that some of his story on the Government's Iraq dossier was wrong.

"I again apologise for it. My departure is at my own initiative. But the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) collectively has been the victim of a grave injustice."

Gilligan said he had not been forced to resign, but was quitting to protect the institution he "loved".

In a lengthy statement, he said, "I love the BBC and I am resigning because I want to protect it. I accept my part in the crisis, which has befallen the organisation. But a greater part has been played by the unbalanced judgements of Lord Hutton.

"If Lord Hutton had fairly considered the evidence he heard, he would have concluded that most of my story was right."

He said the broadcaster's punishment was "far out of proportion to its mistakes or my mistakes, which were honest ones", adding Lord Hutton's report "casts a chill over all journalism, not just the BBC's.

"It seeks to hold reporters, with all the difficulties they face, to a standard that it does not appear to demand of, for instance, Government dossiers."