The official line on the arming of guards working with BBC journalists, from Head of Newsgathering Adrian Van Klaveren:

Following some reports today, I would like to clarify the BBC's position on the use of armed guards to escort journalists.

It remains the case that at present the BBC is not hiring armed guards to escort its journalists anywhere in the world and we have no plans to do so in the foreseeable future. But because of the increasing dangers faced by journalists on certain assignments and the need for a quick response, we have put in place a streamlined procedure for making the decision on whether or not to arm. I stress that this decision would only be taken in very specific circumstances and would require authorisation from Richard Sambrook (Director of News) and Stephen Dando (Head of Personnel). The safety and security of our teams must always be our paramount consideration and we are of course keeping our policy under constant review.