‘There is an air of suspicion hanging over the BBC now’ - The broadcaster’s fight to rescue its reputation

TODAY is the BBC’s 90th birthday, but there isn’t much to celebrate as the Jimmy Savile affair threatens to cast a shadow over the embattled corporation for many years to come, hears Brian Ferguson

WHEN George Entwistle arrived at the helm of one of the nation’s most cherished institutions a month ago, his timing seemed impeccable. The BBC’s new director-general took over an organisation still basking in the glow of its acclaimed London Olympics coverage, with criticism over its handling of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee seemingly forgotten, and just weeks away from celebrating the 90th anniversary of its foundation.

Today, on that landmark date, Entwistle could be forgiven for wondering how it has all gone so wrong so quickly – and all thanks to one of its most popular presenters over several decades. Already it appears that the Jimmy Savile affair will cast a huge shadow over the BBC for years to come.

Daily allegations about the star show no signs of abating and the BBC is also firefighting mounting claims about other presenters suffering sexual harassment. Only yesterday veteran journalist John Simpson claimed that top executives knew of sexual abuse by another star presenter in the 1950s and 1960s.

Click here for a timeline of the BBC’s 90-year history

The prospect of a wide-ranging police investigation, involving multiple UK forces, an internal inquiry into the culture and practices at the BBC during Savile’s time, and demands for a parliamentary inquiry mean there is no prospect of any long-term respite.

The Savile affair is the latest in a long line of scandals to engulf the BBC over the last decade. But unlike other recent controversies, such as the Ross/Brand affair, the fake competition prize winners and the row over the government’s weapons of mass destruction dossier, there is little prospect of the Savile storm clouds lifting within the next five years. Media commentators and experts are agreed that the BBC is likely to have to work hard to restore faith in its reputation – through transparent investigations, new mechanisms to prevent similar abuse being carried out and appropriate sanctions for anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.

Dr Michael Higgins, media expert at Strathclyde University, says: “The big problem for the BBC is the perception that the Savile affair is part of a much wider narrative in Britain over the last few years. We have seen what has happened with the collapse of the banks, politicians and their expenses, and the Leveson inquiry into newspapers. There has been a growing culture of scandal and there is an air of suspicion hanging over the BBC now. The key thing for the BBC is [to ensure] that it treats all the allegations that have been made extremely seriously and investigates them fully. If there is any hint of people trying to cover their backs, then the stains will linger for a lot longer. The difficulty for them is that although there have been controversies and scandals in the past, there is nothing on the scale that this appears to be. This was obviously not an isolated incident, as happened with Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, and the Andrew Gilligan affair, over the ‘sexed-up’ dossier claims, has now been largely forgotten about.”

The embarrassment over Savile is a far cry from the heady early days of the BBC – initially known as the British Broadcasting Company. On 18 October, 1922, a group of wireless manufacturers formed a new firm, which within weeks was broadcasting from a studio in the Strand area of London.

By then they had appointed a 33-year-old Scot, John Reith, as general manager and within a year plays, concerts, classical music and variety programmes were being aired. News bulletins were a relative rarity, due to efforts to avoid competition with the newspaper industry.

Just four years after its foundation, the BBC found itself in hot water with the government of the day amid concerns over its editorial independence during the Great Strike. Winston Churchill, then chancellor, argued strongly in favour of a government takeover. But his efforts were scuppered by the combined efforts of Stonehaven-born Reith and the then prime minister, Stanley Baldwin.

Controversy has never been far from BBC’s door, from MI5’s vetting of job applicants until the end of the Cold War, Tory chairman Norman Tebbit’s attacks on coverage of the American bombing of Libya and the furore after the death of Dr David Kelly, the scientist who was the source for Andrew Gilligan’s disputed Iraq report, to this year’s coverage of the Jubilee.

At the time of the Jubilee, the then director-general, Mark Thompson, was able to shrug off the complaints, which numbered around 4,000, insisting that the rain was to blame. In fact, it later emerged that he had thanked staff for their “outstanding coverage”, which even some BBC figures admitted was “lamentable.”

At least Entwistle has acted with relative haste, first issuing an apology to Savile’s victims and describing the initial wave of allegations as “awful”. The BBC has faced mounting criticism that Savile’s apparent behaviour since as early as 1959 was not called into question, despite his presence on high-profile shows such as Top of the Pops and Jim’ll Fix It.

Now it has emerged that former High Court judge Dame Janet Smith and former Sky News boss Nick Pollard are to front the respective inquiries into working practices at the corporation over the decades and the controversial shelving of the planned Newsnight documentary into Savile. An as-yet-unnamed expert will also look into claims of sexual harassment at the BBC dating back to the 1970s.

Dr Adrian Hadland, a film and television expert at Stirling University, says: “The BBC still has an incredibly robust, international reputation for quality journalism and public service, though the world will be watching to see how it manages the fall-out from the Saville scandal.

“I don’t think trust has been lost forever. The BBC is a global institution and, while trust has undoubtedly been dented, it is within the BBC’s power to steady the ship and restore faith. The scandal now is about leadership and about how the BBC’s current leaders demonstrate their commitment to transparency and justice.

“There is clearly a need to revisit the procedures for broadcasting stories that directly concern the employees and staff of the BBC. This is an ethical matter that requires the BBC to revisit its code of ethics.

“The procedures are quite evidently ineffective, particularly when they attempt to focus on celebrity personalities. In the age of celebrity, it has never been more important for the public broadcaster to ensure it has mechanisms in place to expose its own, where necessary.”

However, media commentator Roy Greenslade says: “It is crucial for the BBC that it clears the air over the Savile affair. The BBC has long been regarded by the public as the most trustworthy source of news, which is the reason its website is the most used in Britain. But this affair does put its credibility at risk.

“The public need to know for sure that no-one at the corporation was culpable and, if they were, how that occurred. They also need to be assured that the Newsnight investigation was not shelved because it would inhibit the later screening of tribute programmes to Savile.

“The headache for the BBC is that the inquiry into its culture and practices cannot proceed until the police conclude their investigation. That means many weeks of continuing speculation and possible revelations as people come forward to speak to newspapers.”