BBC producer fired over phone row

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Broadcast union Bectu has confirmed it is representing a BBC 6 Music producer who has been sacked following an investigation into faked phone-ins.

Earlier this year, the BBC admitted staff on the Liz Kershaw show posed as competition winners on "live" shows which had actually been pre-recorded.

Bectu accused the BBC of singling out junior staff and said the woman would be appealing against the decision.

The BBC said it would not comment on individual staff members.

Serious breaches

Bectu assistant general secretary Luke Crawley said the mocked-up competitions had been taking place long before the dismissed producer joined the programme.

In July Mark Thompson said he had not sought any resignationsThe internal investigation discovered phone-ins had been faked from 2005, continuing until a new producer took over in December 2006.

It was one of several serious breaches of the BBC's editorial codes, which also involved the charity TV shows Children in Need and Sport Relief, which were uncovered by management. The BBC suspended phone-in competitions in the light of the report.

In July director general Mark Thompson insisted he had not received any offers of resignation, nor had he sought any.

He called for a "zero tolerance" approach to any future lapses in editorial judgement and said he wanted mandatory training for 16,500 staff to be made available.

Ofcom had also fined the BBC £50,000 after the children's programme Blue Peter falsified the results of a phone-in competition during a live show.