Lord Patten today admitted that a string of scandals meant the BBC had suffered a “bad year” in which it had been forced to consume “buckets of contrition”.
The BBC Trust chairman said blunders over Jimmy Savile, the Newsnight scandal, executive pay-offs and a botched £100 million digital scheme left the corporation needing to rebuild trust. While there had been successes, including the Olympic coverage, sometimes “shambolic handling” meant licence-fee payers had been let down.
Speaking to the Commons Culture Committee today he noted that the difficult year meant the BBC had needed to appear before Parliament 16 times over the past 12 months.
Lord Patten said: “I hope, and you would expect me to say this, that we can spend the next year focusing on the quality of the BBC in terms of television programmes, radio programmes and online services.
“And that we can ensure trust in the BBC, that still exists and in substantial quantities, can be rebuilt. If that happens I suspect arguments about governance will seem less important ... but it’s been a bad year.”
The annual report and accounts published in July revealed the BBC has spent about £5 million investigating the Savile affair so far.
Also appearing at the committee was current director general Lord Hall, who said staff were “depressed” about the BBC’s difficulties in the last year.
He admitted the BBC had needed to set up a support line for employees to report bullying and harassment.
