Zeenews Bureau
London: In the wake of the resignation of BBC`s top executive George Entwistle, BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said that Entwistle had made up his mind to resign, and thus he didn’t try to argue him out of the decision.
He added that a "thorough, radical, structural overhaul" is what is required to rebuild the credibility and trust. Patten made it clear that he refrained from influencing Entwistle’s decision to quit, as per BBC reports.
He made it clear that a new director general would be appointed soon and till then, Tim Davie would be the acting director general.
Barely eight weeks into the job, has George Entwistle stepped down as BBC`s top executive after one of the broadcaster`s flagship current affairs programmes wrongly implicated a former Conservative politician in a pedophile scandal involving children`s care homes in Wales.
Bowing to widespread criticism, 50-year-old Entwistle resigned as the Director General of the BBC, saying that the "wholly exceptional" events of last week had convinced him to do the "honourable thing" and stand down.
The news was announced by Entwistle and BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten in a statement outside Broadcasting House, the BBC`s new billion-dollar headquarters in central London.
Entwistle had admitted BBC`s Newsnight programme`s report -- which led to Thatcher-era Tory Lord Alistair McAlpine being wrongly implicated -- should not have been aired.
"When appointed to the role, with 23 years` experience as a producer and leader at the BBC, I was confident the trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post, and the right person to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead," Entwistle said. "However the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader."
Lord Patten had earlier remarked Entwistle’s resignation was "one of the saddest evenings of my public life".
He said Entwistle had behaved as editor with huge honour and courage.
The BBC Director General stepped down in the wake of criticism over a Newsnight report that had focused on allegations of abuses by a senior Conservative politician in the 1970s and 1980s at children`s homes in north Wales. The broadcaster did not name the politician but online rumors focused on Lord McAlpine, who has reportedly threatened to sue.
