The Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten of Barnes, has come under fire for appointing a law firm with strong links to the BBC as the secretariat in its independent enquiries into alleged sexual abuses conducted by Jimmy Savile when he worked at the Corporation in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Lord Patten has instructed law firm Reed Smith to act as the secretariat for the review into why a Newsnight investigation into Savile was dropped in December last year.
A subsequent investigation by ITV revealed abuse of several women by Savile spanning three decades; since the programme aired the police have been notified of further abuses by almost 300 victims.
In addition to victims, former colleagues have now come forward to cast a light on Savile's unusual predilection for insitutionalised victims and to air rumours that he indulged in necrophilic sexual practices whilst working in hospitals.
Savile died last year, age 84.
The BBC have come under fire for blocking the airing of the Newsnight investigation, a move that some view as a cover-up to hide the fact that much of the abuse was perpetrated whilst Savile was a poster-boy for the Corporation.
Now Rob Wilson MP has written to Lord Patten to ask why the law firm Reed Smith, with its long association with the BBC, was chosen for involvement in an independent review into the Corporation's handling of the Newsnight investigation. The former head of Sky News, Nick Pollard, is chairing that review.
"In the case of the Pollard review in particular, the role of the independent secretariat in gathering and interpreting evidence will be particularly important given that Mr Pollard appears to be conducting his review alone, without the support of any other panelists," wrote Mr Wilson.
The BBC said yesterday that it would look into the matter.
Source:
Savile investigation: appointment of Legal firm linked to BBC questioned (The Telegraph)
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