AGM Summary

British Telecommunications PLC
18 July 2001

NR0151                                        July 18, 2001



                   NEW BT CHAIRMAN THANKS SHAREHOLDERS FOR

                                KEEPING FAITH

Sir Christopher Bland today made his first address as BT chairman to
shareholders at the Company's annual general meeting in Nottingham

He said that it was a great honour to step into the role of chairman and paid
tribute to the part played by his predecessor, Sir Iain Vallance, whom he
described as a devoted servant of BT.

     Sir Christopher said: 'It has been a challenging year for both BT and the
entire telecommunications industry. When I joined your Company as Chairman on
May 1, there was a pressing need to secure your Company's financial stability
and to build a platform for shareholder value.

'We have acted to reduce the company's debt. We have successfully delivered
the UK's largest-ever rights issue and raised £5.9 billion. Many of you will
have participated in this and I am delighted that you delivered this major
vote of confidence in BT.'

Turning to financial matters, Sir Christopher said that the results had
reflected satisfactory operating performance from the UK business and that -
at the group level - earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and
amortisation were maintained.

Sir Christopher concluded by assuring shareholders of his commitment to BT,
its customers and its shareholders, saying: 'Thank you for keeping faith with
us through a difficult year. On May 10, I said that it would require
determined and rapid action by management to achieve the transformation of BT.
We have made a good start.'

In his address, Sir Peter Bonfield, BT's chief executive said that the
communications sector is facing a totally different scenario to that of one
year ago. He said: 'The industry as a whole is probably over-invested. Add to
this the high cost of 3G licences and it is not surprising that the general
outlook has been uncertain. I believe that this is a difficult but a passing
phase.'

     Sir Peter drew attention to the share price performance of others in the
industry. He said: 'As part of this general situation, BT's share price has
fallen. However, over the past year, we have outperformed all our major UK
competitors. Vodafone, Energis, Telewest, C&W, Colt, Kingston and Thus have
all seen larger falls than us. And by a considerable margin in some cases.

'We've also done better than most of our main European rivals - in Spain,
Germany, France and the Netherlands.'



 Inquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on
its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK, dial [phone].

          All BT group news releases can be accessed at our web site

               as can full copies of the text of both speeches:

                      http://www.groupbt.com/mediacentre