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Revealed: Tape that shows BBC chief ‘did know of Savile probe’
By Glen Owen and Miles Goslett
Accusation: Tory MP Rob Wilson, pictured, has sent a bombshell tape recording to the chairman of the BBC Trust which he says proves there was a ‘cover-up’ over the Jimmy Savile affair
A Tory MP last night sent a bombshell tape recording to the chairman of the BBC Trust which he says proves there was a ‘cover-up’ over the Jimmy Savile affair.
Rob Wilson has given Chris Patten a recording of Nick Pollard – who headed an independent inquiry into why the BBC’s Newsnight programme axed its investigation of Savile.
On the tape, Mr Pollard is heard admitting that he made a ‘mistake’ by withholding a key detail from his report. He says he was told that BBC head of news, Helen Boaden, had personally informed director-general Mark Thompson of the sex abuse allegations against Savile in December 2011. Mr Pollard added he received the information in a letter from Ms Boaden’s lawyer.
The assertion is at odds with Mr Thompson’s claim that he was unaware of the allegations against Savile until after he left the BBC in September 2012. In his final report in December 2012, Mr Pollard stated that he had ‘no reason to doubt’ Mr Thompson’s story.
But during the tape-recorded private conversation, Mr Pollard adds: ‘It doesn’t particularly reflect well on me that I overlooked this [the letter] in the report.’
Source: http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2013/11/revealed-tape-that-shows-bbc-chief-did-know-of-savile-probe/
