Following Asquez's retraction of his statement and his allegation that he was pressured into giving a false account of the events he witnessed, the IBA contacted Thames to express its concern and to raise the possibility of an investigation into the making of the documentary. Thames eventually agreed to commission an independent inquiry into the programme (the first such inquiry into an individual programme), to be conducted by two people with no connection to either Thames or the IBA; to that end, Thames engaged Lord Windlesham and Richard Rampton, QC. Windlesham was a Conservative politician, privy councillor, and former minister in the Home Office and then the Northern Ireland Office; he also had experience of television journalism, having previously managed two television companies. Rampton was a leading barrister specialising in media law and libel. The inquiry's terms of reference were "to inquire into the making and screening of 'Death on the Rock'", including its creation, production, content, and any effect it had had on the inquest.