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| Ex-BBC chief Thompson accuses BBC Trust of misleading MPs | Ex-BBC chief Thompson accuses BBC Trust of misleading MPs |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A former BBC director general has accused the BBC Trust, which represents licence fee payers' interests, of misleading parliament about excessive pay-offs to senior executives. | A former BBC director general has accused the BBC Trust, which represents licence fee payers' interests, of misleading parliament about excessive pay-offs to senior executives. |
| Mark Thompson says he has emails which show that trust members, including the chairman Lord Patten and a senior BBC boss, approved the payments. | Mark Thompson says he has emails which show that trust members, including the chairman Lord Patten and a senior BBC boss, approved the payments. |
| The BBC has been criticised for paying £2m more than contracts necessitated. | The BBC has been criticised for paying £2m more than contracts necessitated. |
| The BBC Trust has denied Lord Patten and the other trust member misled MPs. | |
| In a letter to MPs investigating the issue, Mr Thompson says statements by the trust's chairman were inaccurate, information was kept from the National Audit Office and the head of human resources misled MPs over her involvement. | In a letter to MPs investigating the issue, Mr Thompson says statements by the trust's chairman were inaccurate, information was kept from the National Audit Office and the head of human resources misled MPs over her involvement. |
| 'Bizarre' statement | |
| The 13,000-word document came in response to allegations made in July before MPs that he had not been open with the trust about pay-offs to two senior executives. | The 13,000-word document came in response to allegations made in July before MPs that he had not been open with the trust about pay-offs to two senior executives. |
| The document included a briefing note prepared for Lord Patten on defending the size of the payments. | |
| Another attachment challenged the BBC head of human resources' claim that she did not know of an email explaining the pay-offs, and appeared to show that she helped to compose it. | |
| Mr Thompson also claims the trust did not reveal its full involvement with the pay-offs to the National Audit Office. | |
| The BBC Trust said the statement was bizarre and denied claims that Lord Patten and trust member Anthony Fry had misled MPs. | |
| It added that it was looking forward to putting its side of the case to the Public Accounts Committee next week. |