Government Warns BBC Of Sex Abuse Scandal

The government warned the BBC yesterday that a growing sex abuse scandal was raising “very real concerns” about public trust in the broadcaster. The BBC has been thrown into disarray by accusations that it helped cover up sexual abuse by one of its former presenters, Jimmy Savile, and has struggled to explain why one of its own programmes dropped an investigation into Savile last year.

Police and the BBC, which is funded by the public through a licence fee, are looking into allegations that the eccentric, cigar-chomping Savile, who died last year, abused girls as young as 12 over six decades. Some of the attacks were alleged to have taken place on BBC premises.

“These allegations do leave many institutions, perhaps particularly the BBC, with serious questions to answer,” Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament. “The government will do everything it can do, other institutions must do what they can do, to make sure we learn the lessons of this and it can never happen again.”

Cameron’s comments follow a letter from Culture Secretary Maria Miller who told the BBC that “very real concerns are being raised about public trust and confidence in the BBC”. MPs and the media heavily criticised Director General George Entwistle for his uncertain appearance before parliament on Tuesday to answer questions over the scandal.

His predecessor, Mark Thompson, is also facing scrutiny over his handling of the case. The public editor of Thompson’s soon-to-be employer, the New York Times, questioned whether the Briton was now fit to serve in his new role with such a scandal hanging over him. “How likely is it that (Thompson) knew nothing?” Margaret Sullivan wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

“His integrity and decision-making are bound to affect The Times and its journalism - profoundly. It’s worth considering now whether he is the right person for the job, given this turn of events. Thompson has said he was not briefed on the high-profile Newsnight programme that detailed allegations against Savile, who hosted prime-time children’s shows on the BBC, and he was not involved in the decision to shelve its report.