Jimmy Savile abuse: Lord Patten backs BBC independence

Lord Patten heads the BBC Trust which looks after licence fee payers' interests

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten has sought to reaffirm the corporation's independence from government with Culture Secretary Maria Miller.

In an exchange of letters, Mrs Miller said there were concerns about public confidence in the BBC over inaccurate statements about a Newsnight investigation into Sir Jimmy Savile.
Lord Patten said the BBC's inquiries would be comprehensive and independent.
It comes after BBC director general George Entwistle appeared before MPs.
He told the Commons culture committee that the "culture and practices of the BBC seemed to allow Jimmy Savile to do what he did".
"It is a gravely serious matter and one cannot look back at it with anything but horror that his activities went on as long as they did undetected," he said.
He said the Newsnight probe into sexual abuse claims against Savile should not have been dropped.
But he also said he did not believe management pressure had led to the report being shelved.
Chairman's reply
Mrs Miller told MPs last week that the BBC was taking the sexual abuse allegations against Savile very seriously, and welcomed its decision to set up three independent inquiries.
But in a letter to Lord Patten on Tuesday, she said "very real concerns" were being raised about public trust in the BBC.
She said this followed Mr Entwistle's Commons appearance and the revelations of factual inaccuracies in the original explanation of why the BBC Newsnight report on Savile had been pulled.
Mrs Miller welcomed Lord Patten's commitment that the inquiries would go wherever the evidence took them.
And she said: "Both the Trust and the Executive must stand ready to act on the results of the inquiries swiftly and decisively.
"It is the Trust's role as the sovereign body of the BBC to be accountable to licence fee payers and ensure public confidence in the BBC."
In response, Lord Patten said: "You know how seriously the Trust takes the allegations surrounding Jimmy Savile and the need to maintain public trust in the BBC."
He added: "You have recognised both the credibility and the scope of those who are leading the inquiries and the wide scope of their terms of reference."
But he also warned: "I know that you will not want to give any impression that you are questioning the independence of the BBC."
'No pressure'
Mr Entwistle appeared before the committee of MPs, who were openly scornful of some of his answers, on Tuesday.

 

Jimmy Savile was a man with a high profile public persona, built on decades of broadcasting and charitable work.

He was seen as a flamboyant eccentric but is now accused of years of sexual abuse.

In a two-hour appearance, the director general said he did not believe management pressure had led to the Newsnight report on Savile being stopped.

Mr Entwistle also said there was not enough evidence to say whether sexual abuse or harassment at the corporation was "endemic".
He added that a "broader cultural problem" at the BBC in the past had allowed the abuse by Savile, who regularly appeared on British TV in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
He said he had been told about the Newsnight investigation while he was head of BBC Vision, but added he did not press for more details as he did not want to show "undue interest" in a news issue.
And he insisted Newsnight editor Peter Rippon had decided to drop the report on Savile "on his own account" and there was "no external pressure".
Police inquiry
In his blog earlier this month defending his decision to pull the probe, Mr Rippon said he had been "guided by editorial considerations only", adding some of the team "disagreed strongly with [his] judgement" while others "agreed equally strongly".
But on Monday the BBC issued a correction to some specific elements of the blog, calling it "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects", and the director general told MPs this was a matter of "regret and embarrassment".
Mr Entwistle said he had asked Mr Rippon to step aside because of inaccuracies in the blog.
Meanwhile, a woman has told BBC Radio 5 live's Tony Livesey programme she was raped by Savile in his caravan in a BBC car park in 1970 when she was 22 and had just won a beauty contest.
She said on another occasion she was contacted by the same BBC employee who had put her in touch with Savile and invited to attend a film - and then that man raped her in an office at Broadcasting House.
The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she did not speak out at the time because she thought nobody would have believed her.
Police have launched a criminal investigation into Savile, who died last year aged 84.
They have described him as a predatory sex offender and believe he may have abused many people - including young girls - over a 40-year period.
The BBC has launched two inquiries related to Savile - one into whether there were any failings in the BBC's management of the Newsnight investigation, and one into the culture and practices of the BBC during Savile's time at the corporation.
In a third review, an expert will look at sexual harassment claims and practices at the corporation.
Meanwhile, charities said they had seen an increase in the number of people calling their helplines about sexual abuse inflicted many years ago since the claims about Savile came to light.