BBC to hire armed guards for staff in hostile areas

The shift in policy was announced after an attack by gunmen on a BBC television crew on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An Irish cameraman, Simon Cumbers, 36, was killed in the shooting, and a British reporter, Frank Gardner, 42, was critically injured.

A BBC spokeswoman denied, however, that the new policy had arisen as a result of the attack on Cumbers and Gardner and said it was the outcome of six months of discussions.

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The BBC would employ guards only "in certain exceptional circumstances," the spokeswoman said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Until now, the BBC has employed guards only to protect its facilities.