Savile scandal: BBC bosses to be quizzed by barrister in Newsnight probe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/nov/01/savile-bbc-bosses-quizzed-barrister

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The BBC director general, George Entwistle, and other executives will be questioned by a barrister and be entitled to legal representation as part of the independent inquiry into Newsnight's axed Jimmy Savile film.

Nick Pollard, the former head of Sky News who is leading the inquiry, is investigating whether there were failings in BBC management's handling of the Newsnight story in November and December 2011 and its aftermath, including a blog posted by the editor of Newsnight earlier this month about the decision to drop the report, which later had to be corrected.

The widening of the inquiry to include the Peter Rippon blog post is the only major addition to the terms of reference originally published by the BBC on 16 October.

Several BBC executives are expected to be joined by lawyers when they are questioned by Pollard and a barrister over the dropped Newsnight film in the next fortnight.

The full remit and timetable of the Pollard review was revealed for the first time on Thursday. The independent inquiry said it expects to publish the report by the second half of November.

Pollard's review will investigate whether BBC executives should have passed evidence to the police after the Newsnight story was dropped in December last year – and whether they should have proceeded with Savile tribute shows later that month.

It will also examine whether any "inappropriate managerial pressure" was put on Rippon, the Newsnight editor, before he cancelled the Savile programme in December 2011.

Significantly, the review will also consider a blog post by Rippon which the BBC later had to correct for after it discovered three significant mistakes. Rippon has stepped aside from his editing duties while the review is completed.

Outlining its remit, the Pollard review said: "The review will establish whether there were any failings in the BBC management of the Newsnight investigation relating to allegations of sexual abuse of children by Jimmy Savile, including the broadcast of tribute programmes on the BBC.

"This will encompass the BBC's handling of material derived from the investigation that could have been of interest to the police or relevant authorities and whether any inappropriate managerial pressure or consideration may have influenced the decision of the editor of Newsnight."

The inquiry has already begun interviewing witnesses and started an electronic search of archived documents "in respect of relevant individuals and relevant periods".

Pollard's review will submit a written report to the BBC's executive board, chaired by non-executive director Dame Fiona Reynolds, with recommendations for any future action deemed appropriate.

Will Wyatt, the former BBC executive, said on Wednesday that he believed heads would roll over the Savile scandal. Lord Patten, the BBC Trust chairman, has also admitted he would not be surprised if it results in resignations or disciplinary action.

Interviews will take place in private at the inquiry, which has none of the powers of compulsion or publication as a public inquiry like Lord Justice Leveson's examination of press ethics.

The Conservative MP Rob Wilson wrote to Patten on Wednesday urging him to make public all evidence seen by the inquiry.

The BBC executive board will pass the report unamended to the BBC Trust along with its own assessment, according to the Pollard review terms of reference.

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