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BBC draws a line under radio row BBC 'must be firmer on excesses'
(9 minutes later)
The BBC is hoping that it has drawn a line under the furore provoked by the offensive phone calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross. The BBC must be "firmer on excesses" in the wake of the Radio 2 offensive phone call row, BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons has said.
The pair made the calls to the actor, Andrew Sachs, on Brand's Radio 2 show. The calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross to actor Andrew Sachs "demonstrated the need for stricter controls", he said.
Brand resigned on Wednesday and Ross has been suspended from his BBC shows for three months without pay. But, he added, the BBC must "be careful we do not retrench to a position where we're no longer willing to take risks".
However, the BBC Trust has asked for a further report into the matter, and Ofcom is conducting its own investigation, which could mean a fine. Brand has resigned, while Ross has been suspended for three months without pay.
The BBC Trust wants more information on how the programme was approved for broadcast, and who was involved in the final decision. The pair made a series of offensive calls to Sachs, 78, on Brand's Radio 2 show which included obscene comments about the Fawlty Towers actor's 23-year-old granddaughter, Georgina Baillie.
The BBC radio show saw Brand and Ross make obscene comments about Sachs' 23-year-old granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The incident led Lesley Douglas, controller of Radio 2, to tender her resignation on Thursday.
Director-general Mark Thompson said there must be "tight discipline" in future and that "nothing like this must ever happen again". The BBC is hoping to draw a line under the furore, which as of last night had attracted 37,500 complaints.
The Controller of Radio 2, Lesley Douglas, has also quit over the row. We don't feel like we've been picked on undeservedly. It was a huge mistake and we all wish it hadn't happened Chris Evans 'Courage'
She said the decision to leave her job was "mine and mine alone" and was made with "enormous regret". The Trust, the BBC's governing body, has asked for a further report into the matter.
The Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans was visibly upset when talking about his former boss. Jonathan Ross has been suspended for three months It wants more information on how the programme was approved for broadcast and who was involved in the final decision.
Ms Douglas was "the best boss in the world", he said. Sir Michael, however, said he was satisfied with how the matter has been handled by Mark Thompson, the BBC's director general.
Speaking on the BBC Breakfast programme, he said Mr Thompson had acted "with courage" and had the full confidence of the Trust.
"The BBC takes its responsibilities over standards seriously and recognises what happened was completely unacceptable."
Ofcom is conducting its own investigation into the row, which could mean a fine.
'Final warning'
Mr Thompson, meanwhile, has said there must be "tight discipline" in the future and that "nothing like this must ever happen again".
Russell Brand resigned from his Radio 2 showMr Thompson also called Ross's actions "utterly unacceptable", adding that the presenter should regard his three-month suspension as a "final warning".
He said the suspension - which will reportedly cost the entertainer more than £1 million - was "an exceptional step".
Mr Thompson met with the BBC Trust on Thursday to discuss the crisis.
The Trust demanded an on-air apology and called for editorial standards in the BBC to be tightened, with particular attention to "high risk" programmes.
In a statement issued after their meeting with Mr Thompson, the Trust said it was "dismayed" that the broadcasts "fell so far short of audience expectations".
It said there had been a "deplorable intrusion into "the privacy of Mr Sachs and his granddaughter".
'Huge mistake'
They issued an unreserved apology to licence fee payers, as well as to Sachs.
Lesley Douglas began her career at the BBC in 1986Ms Douglas said the decision to leave her job was "mine and mine alone" and was made with "enormous regret".
Her departure dismayed many of her colleagues, one of whom - DJ Chris Evans - called her "the best boss in the world".
However, he said employees of the station understood the "severity of what's gone on".However, he said employees of the station understood the "severity of what's gone on".
"Andrew Sachs doesn't want to be 78 years old and remembered for this, he wants to be remembered for what he did brilliantly." "We don't feel like we've been picked on undeservedly," he said after his show on Thursday. "It was a huge mistake and we all wish it hadn't happened.
'Deplorable intrusion' "Andrew Sachs doesn't want to be 78 years old and remembered for this. He wants to be remembered for what he did brilliantly."
Thompson also called Ross's actions "utterly unacceptable", adding that the presenter should regard it as a "final warning".HAVE YOUR SAYWhere are the resignations of the producer who permitted the programme to be broadcast and of Jonathan Ross whose initial comments led to the incident?Martin Underwood, OxfordSend us your comments
Thompson said Ross's three-month suspension was "an exceptional step". It is believed the suspension of pay will cost the entertainer more than £1 million.
Thompson met with the BBC Trust to discuss the crisis over lewd phone calls made to Sachs during Brand's programme.
The Trust has demanded an on-air apology and called for editorial standards in the BBC to be tightened, with particular attention to "high risk" programmes.
In a statement issued after their meeting with Thompson, the Trust said it was "dismayed" that the broadcasts "fell so far short of audience expectations".
It said there had been a "deplorable intrusion" into the privacy of Sachs and his granddaughter".
They issued an unreserved apology to licence fee payers, as well as to the Fawlty Towers actor and his family.