BT Scotland appointment

BT Group PLC
20 April 2004

20 April 2004

For immediate release



BT APPOINTS IAIN ROBERTSON AS NEW CHAIRMAN OF ITS SCOTTISH BOARD



Scottish banker Iain Robertson is announced today as the new chairman of the
board of BT Scotland.

He is currently non-executive chairman and a former chief executive of the Royal
Bank of Scotland's corporate banking and financial markets division, which is
responsible for all corporate banking activities across the group.

He replaces, in June,  Dr Iain Anderson who has been on the board since the
inception of BT Scotland in July 1998.  He took over as chairman in January 2000
following the retirement of  Doug Riley, director  and chairman BT Scotland.

Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT, welcomed Iain Robertson to the BT
Scotland board and thanked Iain Anderson for his much valued contribution.

He said: "Since the creation of BT Scotland the communications industry has
experienced considerable turbulence and change; throughout this time  Iain
Anderson has provided steady and experienced leadership. Under his chairmanship
BT Scotland's strategic focus has been firmly on improving customer satisfaction
and extending high-speed internet links.

"He leaves us at a time when  broadband exchange coverage has increased from
almost nil to more than 75 per cent of the country,  with Scotland playing a
leading role as the test bed for trials of new technologies to bring broadband
to rural and remote communities.

"Iain Robertson's wide and varied experience in the public and private sectors
will help us to move forward to the goal of 100 per cent broadband exchange
availability by the end of 2005, with partnerships between the public sector and
industry integral to this aim."

Iain Robertson's priorities will be to ensure the commitment to broadband is
delivered, enable the roll-out of new services using the high-speed technology
and to continue improvement to quality of service.

Iain Robertson said: " The commitment to making broadband available across
Scotland provides the backbone for radical change to the development of the
Scottish economy. The development of a knowledge based society and brand new
delivery channels for goods and services offer great  potential to everyone in
Scotland to participate in these changes. I have been impressed by BT's
commitment to and investment in these initiatives alongside partners in the
public sector."

Iain Anderson, who also sat on the main board of BT, said: " I feel privileged
to have been part of the BT team for the last ten years. There have been
challenges galore and never ending excitement at the pace of change in our
industry, with the opportunity to contribute in a positive way to Scotland's
future prosperity. I am delighted that Iain Robertson is taking over from me and
wish him well in the days ahead."

Iain Robertson joined The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 1992 as managing
director, Corporate and Institutional Banking, from NatWest where he was deputy
chief executive and group finance director of County NatWest Limited.

 He led the creation of new businesses in acquisition finance, structured,
project and leveraged finance and in development and mezzanine capital.

Under his management the Royal Bank became a leading player in corporate banking
in the UK and in 1998 he was appointed chief executive of the newly constituted
UK Bank, covering retail, corporate and institutional banking businesses.

Following the acquisition of NatWest he headed what is now the UK's largest
corporate bank, providing a full range of lending, risk management and
specialised services to corporates and institutions in the UK and worldwide.

A qualified chartered accountant, Iain was educated at Jordanhill College and
Glasgow University.  He previously worked in the civil service, with posts in
the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Energy before moving
to the Scottish Office. He was subsequently appointed director of Locate in
Scotland and then chief executive of the Scottish Development Agency.

He is married with four children - two sons and twin daughters - and hobbies
include golf, music and art.



For further information please contact Mitch Reid or Anna Steven at the BT
Scotland Press Office on our 24-hour number 08457 262624. Pictures available by
e-mail.


                      This information is provided by RNS
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