Jimmy Savile: Fresh BBC's Panorama investigation may be delayed | Daily Mail Online comments The BBC was at the centre of a new controversy over Jimmy Savile last night after it emerged that a planned Panorama investigation on the scandal may be delayed. Staff on the BBC1 current affairs show confirmed yesterday that they had previously been told that the ‘quick-turnaround’ programme would be going out on Monday. Contributors were also informed that the investigation was going to air the night before BBC director-general George Entwistle’s appearance in front of the culture, media and sport select committee on Tuesday. New controversy: The airing of a Panorama investigation into the allegations surrounding Sir Jimmy Savile, pictured at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 2003, may be delayed Timely: Any delay would mean the show is aired after BBC director-general George Entwistle appears before MPs over the Savile allegations on Tuesday But now it has emerged that the BBC could move the show to later in the week, blaming the fact that it might not be ready for Monday. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share This would mean any damaging revelations would air after the BBC chief had appeared in front of MPs.

Tom Giles, editor of Panorama, said yesterday that his team were ‘working very hard’ to get the show on air as soon as they could. Panorama editor Tom Giles said his team are working 'very hard' to get the show aired as soon as possible But one MP said it would be ‘extraordinary’ if it did not go out on Monday, while another said there would ‘need to be a very good reason why not’. Former Newsnight political editor Michael Crick, now at Channel 4 News, described the fact that Panorama was set to go out the night before Mr Entwistle’s appearance as a ‘huge problem’ for him. The programme is in part expected to probe what role executives including Mr Entwistle and director of news Helen Boaden had in the decision to drop a Newsnight investigation into Savile’s activities. Critics have suggested that the programme was dropped to protect the corporation’s reputation, but the BBC has repeatedly denied that any pressure was put on Newsnight editor Peter Rippon to pull the investigation. The suggestion that the Panorama programme could be moved back has raised new questions about the BBC’s handling of the issue.

Conservative MP John Whittingdale, who chairs the committee which will be interviewing Mr Entwistle, said: ‘Given that one of the major issues is the suggestion that the BBC has been trying to suppress an investigation into this issue, if it were not transmitted on Monday there would need to be a very good reason.’ Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders, who also sits on the committee, said of the potential Panorama delay: ‘I find that extraordinary and would expect Entwistle to give a full explanation when he comes before the committee.’ Yesterday the BBC was asked by women’s groups to investigate whether ‘institutional sexism’ was partly to blame for the alleged abuse by Savile. Apology: The director-general of the BBC George Entwistle has previously issued a 'profound and heartfelt apology' to Jimmy Savile's victims Investigation: Scotland Yard is now investigating the Jimmy Savile abuse case involving dozens of potential victims The BBC's Savile Paedophile Cover-Up | Biased BBC - The Archive Biased BBC - The Archive (Don't) HAVE YOUR SAY The BBC's Charter and its Producers Guidelines state: ...'Due impartiality lies at the heart of the BBC.

All programs and services should be open minded, fair and show a respect for truth? [BBC reports should] contain comprehensive, authoritative and impartial coverage of news and current affairs in the United Kingdom and throughout the world?? How does the BBC measure up to its charter? The BBC's Savile Paedophile Cover-Up Back to Top Post by Teddy Bear on Sept 30, 2012 21:39:51 GMT A documentary 'Exposure' on ITV, is due to be aired this Wednesday. It concerns allegations of sexual abuse committed by the late Jimmy Savile against girls as young as 12 years old, at least from the 1970's. 10 women, now mature adults, claimed how Savile had groped them, or had them perform acts on him, and at least one was raped in his dressing room. So what does this have to do with the BBC, apart from the fact that some of this abuse took place on BBC premises while Savile was employed by them? Just the fact that the BBC Newsnight team had been investigating similar claims against Savile, and were due to air their findings last December, but were ordered by bosses to drop their investigation.

Instead, the corporation screened two tribute programmes celebrating Savile’s lengthy BBC career as presenter of Jim’ll Fix It and Top of the Pops, and also as a Radio 1 DJ. The BBC claim: ...'it had conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations and found no evidence to support the claims. "The BBC has conducted extensive searches of its files to establish whether there is any record of misconduct or allegations of misconduct by Sir Jimmy Savile during his time at the BBC. No such evidence has been found. "Whilst the BBC condemns any behaviour of the type alleged in the strongest terms, in the absence of evidence of any kind found at the BBC that corroborates the allegations that have been made it is simply not possible for the corporation to take any further action." Newsnight editor Peter Rippon said: "It is absolutely untrue that the Newsnight investigation was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons. "We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated. "To say otherwise is false and very damaging to the BBC and individuals.

The notion that internal pressure was applied appears to be a malicious rumour." Clearly there are allegations of misconduct, and not findings evidence 40 years later is hardly surprising - what evidence did they think could exist. The allegations by 10 different women appears to show that not only was Savile a paedophile, but the BBC are also involved in a cover-up - for whatever reason. Strange how vehemently they can pursue the Catholic Church when they discover a cover-up of sexual abuse, but they want you to believe when its the BBC they have a good reason. Since Savile is dead he is beyond retribution in this world. I'm just glad that this ITV documentary will raise eyebrows about the behaviour of the BBC in this matter. BBC denies cover-up over Sir Jimmy Savile sex allegations The BBC today denied covering up 'inappropriate behaviour' by Sir Jimmy Savile after several women came forward to claim they had been sexually abused by the star. Up to 10 women have spoken to claim they were sexually abused by the late DJ when they were teenagers, including one who says she was raped. Their stories will be broadcast in an ITV documentary on Wednesday.

Many claimed the abused had been an 'open secret' at the BBC and that the corporation chose to turn a blind eye. Childline founder Esther Rantzen, who was a presenter at the BBC in the 1970s, said people in the television world had 'colluded' with the star and 'blocked their ears to the gossip.' But the BBC today said it had conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations and found no evidence to support the claims. "The BBC has conducted extensive searches of its files to establish whether there is any record of misconduct or allegations of misconduct by Sir Jimmy Savile during his time at the BBC. No such evidence has been found. "Whilst the BBC condemns any behaviour of the type alleged in the strongest terms, in the absence of evidence of any kind found at the BBC that corroborates the allegations that have been made it is simply not possible for the corporation to take any further action." The corporation also denied it had shelved a Newsnight investigation into Savile after learning a teenage girl had been abused in a dressing room at Television Centre.

The woman claimed that the presenter molested her when she was 14 or 15 after inviting her to recordings of Clunk Click, his 1970s BBC family show. Newsnight tracked down several other women who claimed that Savile used his role on the programme to groom and abuse teenage girls. The BBC had hoped to broadcast the Newsnight report in December, two months after Savile’s death, but it was claimed bosses were ordered that the investigation be dropped. Instead, the corporation screened two tribute programmes celebrating Savile’s lengthy BBC career as presenter of Jim’ll Fix It and Top of the Pops, and also as a Radio 1 DJ. Newsnight editor Peter Rippon said: "It is absolutely untrue that the Newsnight investigation was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons. "We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated. "To say otherwise is false and very damaging to the BBC and individuals.

The notion that internal pressure was applied appears to be a malicious rumour." See also The shocking evidence that Jimmy Savile DID abuse underage girls - by FOUR of his victims Last Edit: Oct 2, 2012 22:41:27 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards Back to Top Post by Teddy Bear on Oct 1, 2012 21:25:48 GMT One can just imagine how self righteously the BBC would be pursuing this story if it happened within the Murdoch corporation. As it is, they're trying to pretend all about themselves is squeaky clean, when in fact, they increased the potential for this twisted piece of shit to damage more young girls. Can't say I'm surprised, one can see this mentality throughout their output in one form or the other. When one has all these middle-aged women, totally unconnected to each other, making similar accusations about experiences they suffered from this man, what other evidence does the BBC need to justify their claim for pulling the Newsnight programme about him?

This is besides their own staff who witnessed Savile at the time, but failed to report it to the authorities, succumbing to the BBC pressure to keep quiet about it. What's in a name - Savile? TV star is accused of grooming girls as young as 12 Esther Rantzen admits many in the industry 'blocked' their ears to claims about Savile ITV documentary claims some BBC producers were aware of behaviour as far back as the mid 1960s The BBC faced growing anger yesterday amid claims it turned a blind eye to Sir Jimmy Savile’s alleged abuse of under-age girls. There were also questions over why, in the months after his death, the corporation axed a Newsnight investigation into the star’s ‘predatory behaviour’. Savile, who died last year aged 84, is accused of grooming girls as young as 12, by offering them sweets, cigarettes and tickets to be in the audience of his shows. Six women have come forward to say they were sexually abused by the former Jim’ll Fix It star in his Rolls-Royce, at a hospital, at a school and BBC Television Centre. One of the alleged victims claims the former Radio 1 DJ raped her in his dressing room.

An ITV1 documentary to be aired on Wednesday night also features damning contributions from BBC production staff who claim Savile’s predatory behaviour was an open secret. One former BBC producer who saw Savile in a restaurant with a girl aged around 12 describes Top Of The Pops as his ‘happy hunting ground’. Broadcaster and ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen admits many in the television industry ‘blocked our ears’ to claims made about Savile during his 40-year career at the BBC. Writing in today’s Daily Mail, she says: ‘I felt Jim had persuaded us all, audiences, fans, television professionals, even the Pope, to create a myth around Saintly Jim so that he became untouchable. 'One of the assaults had even been witnessed by the member of a television production team. So why was nothing done?’ The BBC insists its ‘well resourced’ investigation into Savile was shelved by Newsnight editor Peter Rippon for editorial reasons. But sources at the BBC claimed it was scrapped at the ‘eleventh hour’ because executives felt ‘incredibly uncomfortable’ broadcasting allegations of Savile’s sexual misconduct. It is also claimed the report would have clashed with a glowing Christmas Day broadcast about Savile on Radio 2.

The ITV1 documentary claims some BBC producers had been aware of Savile’s behaviour as far back as the mid 1960s. Wilfred De’Ath, a former producer on the BBC radio show Teen Scene, claims he saw Savile in a Chinese restaurant with a girl as young as 12 in 1964. Mr De’Ath, now 75, says: I said “where did you pick her up?” And he said “Oh Top Of The Pops”. I remember saying “Is that your happy hunting ground?” and he said “Yes”.’ Another former BBC producer, Sue Thompson, says she saw Savile in his dressing room kissing a girl sat on his knee who was aged around 14. Roger Holt, 70, who worked for Polydor Records in the 1960s, claims Savile’s reputation for liking under-age girls was well known in the record industry and at the BBC. He said: ‘It’s a shame Savile is dead because if he wasn’t they would arrest him now. ‘The BBC must have turned a blind eye to what was going on because all of us in the record industry knew what he was like.

‘It was difficult for anyone outside the BBC to say anything because that could wreck our careers.’ Singer Coleen Nolan has previously revealed she was horrified when she was intimately cuddled by Savile when she appeared on Top Of The Pops in 1979 aged just 14. She said: ‘He was all over me.’ The BBC last night said it found no evidence of any misconduct by the broadcaster in relation to its conduct towards Savile. In a statement it said: ‘The BBC has conducted extensive searches of its files to establish whether there is any record of misconduct or allegations of misconduct by Sir Jimmy Savile during his time at the BBC. No such evidence has been found.

‘Whilst the BBC condemns any behaviour of the type alleged in the strongest terms, in the absence of evidence of any kind found at the BBC that corroborates the allegations that have been made, it is simply not possible for the corporation to take any further action.’ 'He was all over me': 14-year-old Coleen Nolan (pictured with Savile on Top Of The Pops in 1979) said she was horrified when he intimately cuddled her on the show 'He was all over me': 14-year-old Coleen Nolan (pictured with Savile on Top Of The Pops in 1979) said she was horrified when he intimately cuddled her on the show The BBC also defended its decision to drop the Newsnight investigation. Newsnight editor Peter Rippon said: ‘We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated.’ Sources at the BBC claim the Newsnight investigation had uncovered evidence that two other celebrities – who are still alive – allegedly sexually abused underage girls on its premises in the 1970s.

The ITV1 documentary also includes a 2009 recording of Savile talking in support of Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, who was jailed for four months in the UK in 1999 for downloading child porn and later jailed for child sex offences in Vietnam. Savile’s nephew Roger Foster said his family was ‘disgusted’ the allegations were being made against him when he was unable to defend himself. Savile's 'attacks on schoolgirls': Accusers tell of abuse in Rolls-Royce and in his BBC dressing room Sir Jimmy Savile was a national icon and a British institution. He was adored by generations of children, raised more than £40million for charity and, for decades, was the face of the BBC. Today his reputation is in tatters. A number of women have come forward to tell how, when they were children – just 14, 15 and 16 years old – the TV star carried out a string of appalling sex attacks on them, including rape. Two claimed he abused them in the back of his Rolls-Royce, in return for sweets, cigarettes, records and tickets to his hit BBC television series.

Several were sexually assaulted on BBC premises after meeting him on shows such as Top Of The Pops and Clunk-Click, the forerunner to Jim’ll Fix It. Sometimes he would molest them on a couch in his BBC dressing room. Occasionally, he’d just pin them roughly against the wall in the BBC corridors. Three of the girls were hand-picked by Savile from Duncroft Approved School ‘for intelligent, emotionally disturbed’ girls near Staines in Surrey, which Savile frequently visited in the 1970s to help raise its profile. Two were raped, repeatedly. Both claim he gave them sexually transmitted diseases. The revelations follow a year-long investigation by former Surrey police child protection officer Mark Williams-Thomas for an ITV documentary. In Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, due to be screened on Wednesday, the women, now all middle-aged, tell how they were groomed by Savile for sex from the age of 12. According to Mr Williams-Thomas, the victims were too afraid to speak out until Savile died last October, aged 84. He said: ‘This was a man who was Mr BBC. He was everywhere, he was iconic and he was incredibly well-connected.

‘The women thought no one would believe them then. And even now they are terrified of the potential backlash from his fans and from his estate.’ Significantly, the women, none of whom have been paid for their revelations, tell strikingly similar stories. The BBC dressing room with its sordid couch and ‘sex alcove’ crops up again and again. There are endless references to the speed, brute strength and lack of emotion in Savile’s assaults. None was able to fend him off. Williams-Thomas interviewed many more victims of Savile’s assaults who did not want to take part in the programme. He insists the four who were prepared to speak out could be the tip of the iceberg. Even now, only two of the victims have agreed to waive anonymity. One woman, ‘Anna’ declined to take part in the programme but has written about her experiences online. Here, we present their shocking – and graphic – accounts of what they say happened to them at the hands of Savile. ORDEAL IN HIS ROLLS-ROYCE Fiona, a former pupil at Duncroft, claims Savile cherry-picked girls for ‘special outings’ in his gleaming Rolls-Royce.

She was sexually assaulted on numerous occasions and forced to perform sex acts on him. She was 14 years old. ‘We would go to the headmistress’s office and he would sit there with a few of us and then he made his selection [of the girl he wanted]. ‘Being taken out in his car was a treat because we didn’t get to go out much. The very first time he abused me it was in the back of his car. We were in the car park and the other girls were at one of those picnic tables. ‘I knew [what was going to happen] the moment he asked me to stay in the car with him – I was having this wonderful day out and I was expected to pay for it. By the time I’d finished spending some time with him, the wire from my bra had come up over the top of my breast.’ She said he had also assaulted her sexually. Fiona claims Savile later abused her at BBC Television Centre when she was invited with classmates to be in the audience of his BBC1 show, Clunk-Click which he hosted in 1973 and 1974.

‘He had an alcove in his dressing room that had a curtain over it and he would take you behind the curtain.’ She said there she would be subjected to a series of sexual assaults. MOLESTED IN HIS CARAVAN Charlotte was also at Duncroft. She was sexually assaulted by Savile in 1974 in a caravan on the school grounds where he was supposed to be making a recording for his radio show. She was 14. ‘We all went into this caravan and Jimmy Savile was there and the teacher was saying to us, “Oh he’s going to do a recording of you girls to play on the radio!”. ‘She told me to sit on his lap and I felt this hand sort of go up my jumper and on my breast. ‘I shouted at him, “What do you think you are doing?” and the next thing I knew I was dragged out of the caravan by two of the staff and told what a filthy mouth I had and that Uncle Jimmy did nothing but good for the school and I needed to apologise.

‘I was taken to the school’s isolation unit and left there for two or three days.’ RAPED IN THE TV CENTRE ‘Angie’ (not her real name) claims Savile first raped her in a London hotel room in 1974 when she was 15. ‘He invited me to come round to his hotel and before I knew it he had me on the bed and was having sex with me.’ That was just the beginning. Savile had sex with her again and again at the BBC Television Centre. ‘He had a little couch in his dressing room and we’d have sex there or sometimes he’d pin me up against the wall. It happened on a number of occasions. It was very, very quick, very unemotional and that was it. I was a teenager and very naïve and I blamed myself for what he did.’ Savile later gave her a copy of his 1974 autobiography, As It Happens. He had written ‘No escape!’ in the inside cover and signed it ‘Her Keeper’.

Savile, who died last year would have faced arrest if still alive, a child protection expert claims on the documentary Savile, who died last year would have faced arrest if still alive, a child protection expert claims on the documentary THE CHOIR GIRL VICTIM ‘Karen’ (not her real name) claims Savile attacked her in 1973 after watching her perform in a choir at Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he did a huge amount of charity work. She was 14. ‘After the concert, I ran up to him to let him know I was the one who had sent him a letter about the choir. Before I knew what had happened he’d stuck his tongue in my mouth.’ ATTACKED IN THE DRESSING ROOM ‘Val’ (not her real name) was 15 when she met Savile at the BBC in 1968 where he was the face of Top Of The Pops. He sexually assaulted her ‘dozens of times’, raped her and gave her a sexually transmitted disease. ‘The first time he got me into an alcove in his dressing room, ‘ she said. He then pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her. ‘There were dozens of times after that.

It was always a very quick fumble,’ she said. ‘He was very strong and he’d pin me up against a wall, a corridor, wherever he could he’d grab an opportunity, have a quick fumble and then carry on as normal.’ When she was 16, one of the ‘fumbles’ turned into sex. ‘He kept saying he wouldn’t go the whole way but when I tried to push him off he held me down with his body weight. There was a struggle and then it was over. ‘There was no foreplay, no romance. I’m sure it’s why he always wore a shell suit… so he could just whip the bottoms down very quickly. ‘I later discovered he’d given me a sexually transmitted disease. ‘I was very young and naïve and he was in his 40s and a very charismatic and powerful personality. I think as young girls we got caught up in that whole experience at the time… because you know if you were with him you had access to places and you met famous people. ‘There was an air about him that he had power and contacts and you didn’t want to mess with him. When he was alive I would have been too frightened to have spoken out.

‘People need to know that there was a dark side to him. He was a predator on young girls.’ MAULED IN HIS SPORTS CAR ‘Anna’ (not her real name), is a former pupil from Duncroft who has written her recollections online but did not take part in the documentary. ‘I looked forward to Jimmy Savile arriving because it meant pleasant food, rides down the lane in his sports car and extra cigarettes,’ she writes. ‘Sadly it also meant one of us had to put up with being mauled and groped when he pulled into a layby some five miles along the road. ‘He often tried to press me to “go further”…. He promised all manner of good things if I would.’ This included an invitation backstage after a recording of his show Clunk-Click where, she claims, Savile looked on while two other stars (still alive) abused an underage girl in his dressing room and one had sex with her in full view.

Last Edit: Oct 1, 2012 21:33:44 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards The BBC is facing fresh questions about its decision to pull an investigation into sexual allegations against Sir Jimmy Savile after police disclosed that they questioned the TV presenter just five years ago. By Sam Marsden Journalists on BBC2’s flagship current affairs programme, Newsnight, began investigating the sexual allegations against Sir Jimmy after his death in October last year. It is understood that they had interviewed between eight and 10 people, including a number of alleged victims of the presenter, and were completing a film for broadcast in mid-December last year when, to their surprise and anger, they were told it would not be shown. If the programme had gone ahead, it would have been aired only weeks before a special Boxing Day edition of Jim’ll Fix It in tribute to the late presenter, hosted by Shane Richie.

Among the Newsnight team was Mark Williams-Thomas, a former child protection officer with Surrey Police who went on to make a separate documentary about the allegations against Sir Jimmy which will be broadcast on ITV1 on Wednesday night. It is understood that Helen Boaden, the director of BBC News, was told about Newsnight’s investigation into the TV star as part of normal editorial discussions. However, the BBC insists that she was not involved in the decision to drop the film, which it says was taken by Peter Rippon, Newnight’s editor for “editorial reasons”. There were claims last night that Mr Rippon placed barriers to the broadcast of the programme. He initially said it could only be aired if police confirmed they had investigated Sir Jimmy, and later insisted that his journalists confirm with prosecutors the reason why charges were not brought, a hurdle that they could not achieve. A Labour MP on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the BBC had to look into the circumstances in which the Newsnight film was pulled and claims that Sir Jimmy’s alleged abuse of young girls was known about at the Corporation decades ago.

Paul Farrelly, who is himself a former journalist, said: “Given the seriousness of the allegations, it is incumbent on the BBC to investigate what it knew, and when. “That investigation should also include a full look at the circumstances in which this programme was withdrawn. What the BBC needs to specify in particular is what it means by ‘editorial reasons’, which can cover a multitude of circumstances.” The BBC said in a statement: “It is absolutely untrue that the Newsnight investigation was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons. “We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated. To say otherwise is false and very damaging to the BBC and individuals. “To allege that we are withholding evidence from the police is also damaging and false. The notion that internal pressure was applied is a malicious rumour. “No pressure was applied to drop this investigation. None.

To suggest otherwise is to risk impugning the professional reputation and integrity of a number of journalists.” The Corporation added: “We were pursuing a particular angle relating to the Crown Prosecution Service and police, which we were unable to substantiate and which was therefore not broadcast.” Sir Jimmy was interviewed under caution by Surrey Police in 2007 after a former pupil at the now-closed Duncroft Approved School for Girls near Staines, Surrey, where he was a regular visitor in the 1970s, made a complaint of indecent assault against him. But the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that there was not enough evidence to take any further action and no charges were ever brought. The presenter said he was “too valuable to the BBC” to get into trouble after spending the night in a squalid hotel with a girl aged between 10 and 12, it was claimed last night. Wilfred De'Ath, a former BBC producer, told ITV News: "I said to him, 'Jimmy you are living dangerously. Surely you must realise you're living dangerously?' "All he said was, 'oh no no no, I'm much too valuable to the BBC for them to do anything to me'.

He didn't think anything could happen. And nothing did happen." Former BBC colleagues of Sir Jimmy have spoken of their regret at failing to act on decades-old rumours that he was a paedophile. Paul Gambaccini, the broadcaster, said on Monday that he had been “waiting 30 years” for stories about the Jim’ll Fix It presenter’s alleged sexual abuse of schoolgirls to emerge. Gambaccini said his former Radio 1 colleague played tabloid newspapers "like a Stradivarius" to keep allegations of impropriety quiet. He said Sir Jimmy was "about to be exposed" by one newspaper, but to prevent its publication he gave an interview to a rival tabloid which had the effect of stopping the negative piece.

The broadcaster went on: "On another occasion, and this cuts to the chase of the whole matter, he was called and he said 'well you could run that story, but if you do there goes the funds that come in to Stoke Mandeville [Hospital] - do you want to be responsible for the drying up of the charity donations?' And they backed down." Claude Knights, director of the children’s charity Kidscape, said people had a “duty of care” to act on worries about other adults’ allegedly inappropriate behaviour towards children. “What is very, very disturbing is that when some of these irregularities and concerns are connected to a person who is a celebrity and somebody who also is doing many other very positive, high-profile things, there is a reticence to blow the whistle. “If a person is a national treasure, they become almost untouchable. I think it is probably difficult for an ordinary person who may have seen something or felt uneasy to take action. But that doesn’t excuse it.” Mrs Knights said it was important for institutions connected to historic abuse allegations to ensure procedures were in place so children were protected now and in the future.

“It should be recognised that the BBC is leading the way in safeguarding children involved in productions with robust policies and a designated child protection officer," she said. Last Edit: Oct 2, 2012 23:55:49 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards George Entwistle says he didn't ask about content of Newsnight investigation into Savile's sex abuse But BBC insider calls claim 'ridiculous' Newsnight staff split over handling of the broadcast By Sam Webb BBC insiders have called the Director General's claim that he didn't ask about the content of the canned Jimmy Savile Newsnight documentary 'barely credible' and 'ridiculous'. At a press conference on Friday, George Entwistle, who expressed his 'revulsion' at the thought of Savile's abuse at the BBC, claimed he never asked questions about the nature of the Newsnight investigation dropped last year, saying he wanted to ensure the independence of news and current affairs.

At the time Mr Entwistle was Director of the Vision division, which is responsible for commissioning, producing, scheduling and broadcasting the content of all of the BBC's television channels. The Independent reported that media commentator Steve Hewlett, who presents Radio 4's The Media Show, yesterday called the claim 'simply implausible', adding: 'The idea that he didn't know is barely credible.' David Elstein, the former chief executive of Channel 5, added his voice to the condemnation, saying Entwhistle would have to be 'pretty brain dead' not to investigate the programme's subject matter. Mr Entwistle, who also apologised to victims on behalf of the BBC, told reporters that Helen Boaden (head of news) had told him that Newsnight was planning a programme about Savile. He said that he said 'thanks for letting me know', but asked no questions about it. A senior BBC newsroom source told the Independent: 'It defies credibility that he didn't try to find this out. 'The idea that, as head of vision, in charge of the Christmas schedule, he just said 'thanks for letting me know' is ridiculous.

'The best thing you can say is he looks completely incurious to the point of being irresponsible. He looks hopeless.' The source added that Newsnight journalists are 'extremely tense' and feel like they were left 'looking stupid' by Mr Entwhistle's comments. 'You have a huge national story that was not mentioned on Newsnight until 10 or 11 days after it blew up. (The newsroom) is getting uncomfortable. It is very tense. It is a ludicrous situation,' they added. The source also spoke about the claim of Peter Rippon, the editor who dropped the Savile investigation, that the story was not good enough to air. They added: 'He did everything he could to make it impossible for the story to run... In most newsrooms if you are not quite there (with a story) you would just keep going.' The paper added that it understands the Newsnight team had spoken to at least 10 women, including witnesses and victims. A BBC spokesperson said: 'George Entwistle has made his position exceptionally clear.

As said at the press briefing on Friday, 'I was the Director of Vision for the television department at the BBC, I had no influence or authority over investigations carried out by BBC News and it's very important that I always behaved in a manner which absolutely bore out that lack of authority or responsibility'.' Last Edit: Oct 14, 2012 20:11:16 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile was actually shelved 'because it clashed with Christmas tributes to the presenter' Corporation previously said Newsnight film was axed because the abuse story 'could not be substantiated' A leaked email shows the investigation was far advanced and BBC press office was preparing response to questions for after the broadcast Document also shows BBC was aware film could raise questions about why it had failed to expose Savile as a paedophile while he was alive A leaked email has cast doubt on the BBC's reason for cancelling a Newsnight investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile.

The corporation has previously insisted that it decided not to proceed with the Newsnight film for 'editorial reasons' because the abuse story 'could not be substantiated'. But an internal email discussing the investigation into the late DJ suggests that the show was scrapped because of concerns it would clash with the TV channel's planned Christmas tributes to the star. The email dated on December 7, published by The Times today, reveals the investigation into abuse by Savile was so well advanced by then that the press office was preparing 'lines to take' to respond to questions after its planned broadcast. The email, sent from a press officer to Newsnight editor Peter Rippon and other staff, shows that the BBC was aware of the risk that the report would raise questions about why it had failed to expose Savile as a paedophile while he was alive. The press officer wrote that 'we may well need to do a bit of managing around this' and that 'we should bear in mind how BBC complaints team respond'. It also contradicts claims by the BBC that the film focused on an alleged failure by police to investigate Savile properly and that Newsnight journalists were in fact 'focusing on allegations of abuse'.

Rippon has previously claimed that the story his journalists had been pursuing had been 'weakened from a Newsnight perspective' because they had been unable to establish any 'institutional failure' by the police or the Crown Prosecution Service. Leaked: This email from publicist Helen Deller has cast doubt on the reasons the BBC has previously stated for dropping the Newsnight film on Savile Rob Wilson, the Conservative MP for Reading East, who obtained the email, said: 'Newsnight editor Peter Rippon and the BBC have sought to portray that the axed Newsnight report was not an expose of Savile, but was focused on the reasons the police and the CPS dropped their investigation. 'This leaked email and the evidence from internal BBC sources casts doubt on the carefully crafted version of events posted in Peter Rippon's blog on October 2. 'We need a full explanation of why the focus of the Newsnight expose of Jimmy Savile was abruptly changed at the last minute.' Responding to the leaked email, the BBC spokesman said: 'This ridiculous story in no way casts doubt on what the BBC has previously said on this.

'It is simply an exchange between a junior press officer and the Newsnight producer asking for further information about the Jimmy Savile investigation.' She added that the email would be passed to the inquiry into whether there were any failings in the way the Newsnight report was handled. Ex-Sky News executive Nick Pollard is to lead the BBC's independent review into the matter while former High Court judge Dame Janet Smith will lead a second examination into the 'culture and practices of the BBC' during the years Savile worked there. The disclosures about Savile's private life were made in an ITV documentary a fortnight ago. Around 60 people have now come forward to say they were a victim of the veteran DJ, TV presenter and charity campaigner. Police believe the disgraced star, who died a year ago, may have been abusing victims for decades. The BBC and other bodies could be sued by victims if it can be shown they were negligent in allowing Savile to prey on his young victims. A Department of Health investigation will also be conducted into Savile's conduct during his charity work at three hospitals - Stoke Mandeville, Broadmoor and Leeds General Infirmary. Labour has called for an independent inquiry as the fall-out from the revelations continues.

BBC director general George Entwistle and former corporation stalwart Esther Rantzen have become involved as questions are asked about who knew of the rumours about Savile, what and when they heard about them, and whether enough was done to stop him. But a spokeswoman for the BBC dismissed the email as 'simply an exchange between a junior press officer and the Newsnight producer asking for further information about the Jimmy Savile investigation'. Last Edit: Oct 19, 2012 16:40:05 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards

Question: What is the name of the editor of BBC's Newsnight who recently resigned following a Panorama probe into the Jimmy Saville affair?
Answer: Peter RIPPON