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| BBC fined £150,000 over Sachs row | BBC fined £150,000 over Sachs row |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Ofcom has fined the BBC £150,000 over the lewd phone calls Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made to actor Andrew Sachs on Radio 2 last year. | Ofcom has fined the BBC £150,000 over the lewd phone calls Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made to actor Andrew Sachs on Radio 2 last year. |
| The media regulator said the fine reflected "the extraordinary nature and seriousness of the BBC's failures" and the "resulting breaches" of its code. | The media regulator said the fine reflected "the extraordinary nature and seriousness of the BBC's failures" and the "resulting breaches" of its code. |
| The BBC said it accepted Ofcom's findings and added that the material "should never have been broadcast". | The BBC said it accepted Ofcom's findings and added that the material "should never have been broadcast". |
| Brand resigned over the affair and Ross was suspended for three months. | Brand resigned over the affair and Ross was suspended for three months. |
| The fine relates to two episodes of the Russell Brand show broadcast on 18 and 25 October 2008. | |
| Ofcom said the BBC broadcast explicit, intimate and confidential information about Georgina Baillie, the granddaughter of the Fawlty Towers actor, without obtaining consent either from her or Sachs. | |
| OFCOM FINES BBC Read Ofcom's Russell Brand show ruling in full [249 KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here | |
| "This not only unwarrantably and seriously infringed their privacy but was also gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning," it said. | |
| Ofcom fined the corporation £70,000 for breaching rules on generally accepted standards and offensive material. | |
| It also imposed a £80,000 fine for failing to adhere to rules which protect members of the public from unwarranted infringements of privacy. | |
| Ofcom has also directed Radio 2 to broadcast a summary of its findings. | |
| A BBC spokesman said: "As we said last October, this material should never have been broadcast and we apologised unreservedly for that. | |
| "The BBC has since taken comprehensive action to deal with what were unacceptable failures in editorial judgement and compliance which led to the broadcast." |