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Lord Patten warns Tory MP over Savile scandal evidence
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Telegraph (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
Posted: December 17th, 2013
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/jimmy-savile/10...
Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, has warned a Conservative MP that he risks legal action if he publishes evidence calling into question the corporation's handling of the Jimmy Savile scandal. Robert Wilson, Tory MP for Reading East, has obtained an audio recording in which the author of an independent inquiry into the scandal at the BBC reportedly undermines his own findings. [Wilson] is planning to publish the audio recording today but Lord Patten has written to him warning that he should be "weighing up the legal liabilities that might arise". Nick Pollard, the former head of Sky News, last year [led] an independent inquiry into the BBC's decision to drop a Newsnight investigation into allegations of sex abuse by Savile. Mr Pollard's final report found that while the decision was "flawed", it was not driven by a desire to avoid a clash with tribute programmes. However, it did not include testimony from Helen Boaden, the BBC's former Head of News. She alleged that Mark Thompson, the corporation's former director-general, was aware of the content of the Newsnight investigation. Despite her testimony Mr Pollard's inquiry found that there was "no evidence to doubt" Mr Thompson's version of events. In the audio recording obtained by Mr Wilson, Mr Pollard reportedly privately admits that he was wrong to overlook Miss Boaden's evidence. The report disclosed that BBC executives were warned that Jimmy Savile had a darker side but pressed on regardless with tribute programmes to the child abuser.
Note: The evidence was released in full. To read or listen to the tape, click here. For more on sexual abuse scandals involving respected institutions, see the deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources available here.
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