Jimmy Savile: BBC Boss Faces MPs Over Scandal

BBC boss George Entwistle will later be questioned by MPs about the organisation's handling of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

The director-general faces the Culture, Media and Select Committee hours after the BBC broadcast a Panorama investigation looking at why a Newsnight programme about the allegations was dropped.

The corporation is battling what has been called its "biggest crisis in 50 years" after claims about decades of alleged child abuse by Savile, who died in October last year.

The allegations about the Jim'll Fix It star only fully emerged when ITV broadcast a documentary at the start of this month.

It sparked immediate questions about how the BBC lost their scoop and accusations of a cover-up - as well as major concerns about why the claims were never properly looked into when Savile was alive.

Mr Entwistle will be asked why the Newsnight investigation was axed shortly before tribute programmes to the presenter were shown over the Christmas period.

He will also face questions about the culture at the BBC at the time of the allegations, its vetting procedures and the existing policies on sexual harassment.

Police have called Savile a sexual predator

The broadcaster has already admitted that the account given by Newsnight editor Peter Rippon was "inaccurate or incomplete" and he has stepped aside to focus on preparing for the inquiry.

Panorama's own investigation into the affair highlighted the different explanations given by BBC bosses about the nature of the original Newsnight investigation and why it was dropped.

Once the claims emerged, Mr Entwistle wrote to all staff to insist that the show had been about "Surrey Police's inquiry into Jimmy Savile towards the end of 2011".

But Newsnight producer Meirion Jones insisted it had been looking into whether the star was a paedophile.

"We didn't know that Surrey Police had investigated Jimmy Savile - no-one did - that was what we found when we investigated and interviewed his victims," he said.

Mr Jones and reporter Liz MacKean both appeared in the Panorama documentary and said they had interviewed at least four alleged victims of Savile.

They confirmed with Surrey Police that they had investigated sex abuse complaints against the presenter and DJ in 2007.

Panorama reported that Newsnight bosses had wanted its reporters to stand up a suggestion that Savile was not prosecuted because the CPS thought he was too old and frail.

Once they told bosses the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had not charged Savile due to a lack of evidence, they were told to end the investigation and the show was withdrawn, they said.

Mr Entwistle, then the director of vision, also apparently had a brief conversation with BBC director of news Helen Boaden on December 2 about the Newsnight programme.

She told him he might have to change the Christmas schedules if it went ahead, because of the planned tributes.

It has now emerged that Surrey Police found evidence of "three further potential offences" during its investigation but did not do more because "evidence showed none of the alleged victims would support a prosecution".

Newsnight editor Peter Rippon

Ms MacKean said: "Ever since the decision was taken to shelve our story, I've not been happy with public statements made by the BBC. I think they're very misleading about the nature of the investigation we were doing."

She added: "I was very unhappy the story didn't run because I felt we'd spoken to people who collectively deserved to be heard and they weren't heard and I thought that was a failing ... I felt very much that I'd let them down."

She said she had been left with the impression that Mr Rippon was feeling under pressure, writing to a friend: "PR (Peter Rippon) says if the bosses aren't happy ... (he) can't go to the wall on this one."

Mr Jones warned Mr Rippon what would happen if the investigation was dropped and insisted it stood up as it was.

"I was sure the story would come out one way or another and that, if it did, the BBC would be accused of a cover-up," he told Panorama.

"In fact, I wrote an email to Peter saying 'the story is strong enough' and the danger of not running it is 'substantial damage to BBC reputation'."

A Panorama statement said: "Peter Rippon has always maintained the story was pulled for 'editorial reasons' and not because of a potentially embarrassing clash with planned BBC tributes to Savile over Christmas.

"Panorama has found no evidence to contradict that view."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Jimmy Savile: BBC Boss Faces MPs Over Scandal

Dengan url

https://miekeritingting.blogspot.com/2012/10/jimmy-savile-bbc-boss-faces-mps-over.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Jimmy Savile: BBC Boss Faces MPs Over Scandal

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Jimmy Savile: BBC Boss Faces MPs Over Scandal

sebagai sumbernya