Statement re Judicial Review

28 January 2003

RM pauses legal activities in respect of the BBC Digital Curriculum pending clarification of the DCMS' Approval
conditions

RM and 17 other software companies have agreed with the BBC to settle their Judicial Review action concerning
preparatory work for the BBC's Digital Curriculum service.  RM has now requested clarification on the conditions of the
DCMS approval and will determine what, if any, further action to take when it has received these clarifications.

Possible further action now available includes: a complaint to the European Commission challenging State funding of the
Digital Curriculum; a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading that the BBC has abused its dominant position; and a
legal challenge to the constraints set out in the Digital Curriculum Approval.

During this litigation, the BBC has admitted both to impermissible spending on external management consultants and to
engaging in impermissible commercial discussions with Pearson plc.  The BBC has apologised to the Court for these
activities and has launched its own internal inquiry into them.

Commenting today, Tim Pearson, CEO of RM plc said:

'We had noted that the BBC was engaged in considerable Digital Curriculum activity before it had received DCMS
approval.  We set out to show that this activity was impermissible and to stop it.  We have clearly achieved both of
these objectives.

'As we have previously said, this Judicial Review was not about stopping the Digital Curriculum, and nothing more would
be gained by taking it further at this stage.  We will decide on any further action once the Secretary of State has
clarified the details of the 18 constraints placed on the BBC in the Digital Curriculum Approval.'

                                                        -Ends-                                                         

For further information contact:

Phil Hemmings           RM plc                  01235 854542           
Andrew Fenwick          Brunswick               020 7404 5959          

Mark Antelme