BBC boss G Entwistle resigns

DHAKA: The BBC’s director general, George Entwistle, has resigned in the wake of the Newsnight child abuse broadcast.

In a statement given outside New Broadcasting House, Entwistle said: “I have decided that the honourable thing to do is to step down.”

Earlier, Entwistle said Newsnight’s report, which led to Thatcher-era Tory Lord McAlpine being wrongly implicated, should not have been broadcast.

The broadcast covered cases of child abuse at north Wales care homes.

Entwistle took up the post of director general on 17 September, and his sudden resignation makes him the shortest-ever serving BBC director general.

In his statement, he said: “In the light of the fact that the director general is also the editor in chief and ultimately responsible for all content, and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the Newsnight film broadcast on Friday 2 November, I have decided that the honourable thing to do is to step down from the post of director general.”

Source: BBC

BDST: 0855 HRS, NOV 11, 2012
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