This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
Canada: 
Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
The BBC’s director of news, Helen Boaden, and her deputy, Stephen Mitchell, have stepped aside after the director-general; George Entwistle decided to resign over the weekend due to mistaken broadcasting of wrong allegations of child abuse against a former leading politician.
The BBC has been in a continuous crisis as a result of a Newsnight programme for mistakenly implicating Lord McAlpine in a child abuse scandal and the ongoing issues arising from revelations about Jimmy Savile’s abuse.
Mr. Entwistle quit on Saturday night over his handling of the growing problems after serving only for eight weeks, and there have been calls for the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten to follow suit.
Ms. Boaden and Mr. Mitchell did not have anything to do with the failed Newsnight investigation into Lord McAlpine. They are just departing temporarily from their roles as they were in response to the “lack of clarity” surrounding who is in charge while the Pollard Review is making its inquiries and are expected to return after the review gets done.
BBC has stated: It “believes there is a lack of clarity in the lines of command and control in BBC News as a result of some of those caught up in the Pollard Review being unable to exercise their normal authority”.
BBC head of Newsgathering Fran Unsworth becomes acting director of News, while the editor of the Radio 4 Today programme Ceri Thomas takes the acting deputy role. Karen O’Connor – a former deputy editor of Panorama and Newsnight – has also been recruited in as acting editor of Newsnight.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesperson said it was “hard to justify” the £450,000 payoff to Mr. Entwistle. But added that Mr. Cameron still has full confidence in Lord Patten as chairman of the BBC Trust, and believes his priority should be to offer leadership to the BBC in getting out of current crisis.
Article viewed on Oye! Times at www.oyetimes.com.
Be the first to comment