Jimmy Savile: BBC policy chief accused of misleading MPs

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/27/jimmy-savile-bbc-policy-newsnight

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The BBC's crisis over Jimmy Savile has intensified after accusations that the corporation's head of editorial standards knowingly misled parliament.

David Jordan, director of editorial policy and standards at the BBC, told last Tuesday's culture select committee that he had issued inaccurate public statements concerning the nature of Newsnight's Savile sex abuse investigation, but that he did so before he had been told about the true nature of the programme by its producer, Meirion Jones.

BBC sources say, however, that his version is incorrect. They claim instead that Jordan repeated misleading statements about the programme's investigation after he had been warned by Jones that his account was wrong.

Sources within the BBC newsroom said it was concerning that Jordan, who had sat alongside director general George Entwistle during last week's challenging select committee appearance, should have committed such an error. One said: "The chronology of what he knew when is apparent. He could be said to have misled the committee."

As Scotland Yard detectives prepare their arrest strategy following information from more than 300 victims in relation to their Operation Yewtree inquiry into Savile, further pressure on the corporation will emerge this week when lawyers representing some of the victims write to the BBC demanding a fuller apology.

Although Entwistle has offered a "profound and heartfelt apology" to victims, a number of whom were allegedly abused on BBC premises, lawyers believe it does not go far enough. Child abuse lawyer Trevor Sterling, of Slater & Gordon, said: "I don't think we've seen or heard a sufficient apology."

The nephew of Savile, Roger Foster, has offered his "thoughts and prayers" to Savile's victims saying the revelations surrounding the late TV presenter had left the family in "turmoil".

Meanwhile, the NSPCC said calls were still "coming in thick and fast" and showed little sign of abating. Peter Watt, director of the charity's helpline, said they had never fielded so many calls regarding an individual. So far, the charity has taken 190 calls relating directly to Savile plus a further 217 concerning "other historical abuse", all of which are being investigated by the Met.

On Saturday, publicist Max Clifford revealed that up to 15 celebrities had come forward, anxious their past sexual exploits might see them caught up in the wake of the scandal. Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), warned that such were the nature and size of the abuse allegations it could transform the awareness of child sex abuse in Britain. He said: "If you believe that due to someone's position in society, due to their wealth, due to their celebrity ... that means they cannot be a paedophile then you are a danger yourself, to your children and other people's children."

The BBC is braced for the legal ramifications arising from allegations that other BBC employees were involved.

Sterling added: "From what we've heard there were others working in association with Jimmy Savile; there have been many stories of people, for example, taking children to his dressing room. What's emerging now is the suggestion that there was a more formalised ring."

His comments corroborate the latest findings from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood whose chief executive, Pete Saunders, described "an element of widespread organisation" regarding abuse at the BBC.

On the morning of 5 October, Jones told Jordan, during a confidential meeting, that the reasons being put forward by the BBC to explain the dropping of the Savile investigation were misleading.

Despite being told by Jones that Newsnight was looking into allegations that Savile was a paedophile, Jordan later told BBC's Newswatch that Newsnight was examining the Surrey police investigation. At 6:11pm on 5 October, Jones sent an email to Entwistle explaining that the Newsnight investigation had examined whether Savile was a paedophile, not the role of the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

Jordan said that during the meeting Jones told him that he believed the investigation into Savile should have been broadcast and he was unhappy with the corporate characterisation of the nature of the investigation.

He added: "After it was agreed at the outset of the meeting that it would be confidential I specifically asked at the end whether he would like me to take the issues he had outlined further. He indicated he would not, at least not yet. "

During the committee hearing, Jordan explained the inaccurate interviews he had given by saying the email from Jones was sent afterwards. When Labour MP Ben Bradshaw asked Jordan if he was aware of Newsnight staff complaining that the BBC's official version of events was wrong, Jordan answered: "Not initially."

Last Wednesday, after appearing on BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, Jordan became embroiled with Jones in a heated row in the BBC newsroom during which the Newsnight producer reportedly accused Jordan of being a "liar".