BBC is panicking over Savile sex scandal

Jimmy Savile in the '70s.  Source:The Huffington Post

The BBC is facing its worst crisis in 50 years as it tries to deal with veteran TV presenter Jimmy Savile’s paedophilia claims.

Newsnight editor Peter Rippon has stood down from his job pending a BBC investigation of his decision to scrap the Savile story because it clashed with a commemorative tribute to former DJ and presenter that was being made at the same time last October, when he died aged 84.

The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into Savile last week and is currently looking at 460 lines of enquiry based on testimony from nearly 300 witnesses via several police forces across the UK.

A Panorama programme broadcast on BBC1 last Monday revealed bosses knew of Savile’s suspected abuse of teenage girls four decades ago. It also showed key witness Karin Ward being interviewed last November saying Savile regularly abused her aged 14 and that she saw singer Gary Glitter having sex with another under-age girl in Savile’s BBC dressing room.

In fact several other celebrities have been already accused of child abuse on BBC premises or while they were employed by the organisation.

According to Commander Peter Spindler, who is investigating one of the most prolific sexual predators ever seen in Britain, there is ‘Savile on his own’, ‘Savile with others’ and a third category which is ‘others’.

Meanwhile nine past and present BBC employees are under investigation as part of the enquiry into sexual harassment, assault and inappropriate conduct on BBC premises. They are all staff members or contributors.

Without a doubt, the new BBC’s Director-General George Entwistle has been pitched into a news crisis that threatens his position. He has faced questions about his judgement as he chose to broadcast a tribute to Jimmy Savile last year despite being warned by senior executives that it was compromised by a Newsnight investigation into the DJ’s sex abuse.

Mr Entwistle at the time was still the BBC Controller of Knowledge Commissioning.

John Simpson, the BBC foreign editor, describes the scandal engulfing the Corporation as the worst crisis that he can remember in his five-decade long career and said:”BBC will be in a very dangerous position if it loses people’s trust".

It's cold. Switch off the heating!

British Gas, the country’s biggest power suppliers is putting up its gas and electricity tariffs to record levels.

Managing director of British Gas Phil Bentley last week announced the company will increase its gas and electricity prices by six per cent.

The big supplier, which has about 16 million domestic customers, said it is forced into the move by rising wholesale energy costs. In fact, the price British Gas has had to pay for gas before the winter is about 15 per cent higher than last year.

Mr Bentley said:”For every £1 of energy we sell, only 5p of it is our profit. You name me another industry with margins that low”.

According to Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch the pressure of an extra £100 or so on energy bills will force many households to face another winter when they are scared to turn on heating for fear of the cost.

While the boss of British Gas assured that there will be a special Warm House discount for those who are really struggling, consumer groups warned that the energy giant is almost certain to be followed by its rivals, including Scottish Hydro, Swalec and Southern Electric.

Energy secretary Ed Davey declared:”The fact is that no government can control world energy prices, but we are acting to help people cut the size of the bills they actually pay.

“That’s why we encourage households to switch to better deals. It’s also why we want to help them take advantage of insulation offers, so their homes are warmer for less”.

Meanwhile Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that energy companies will be forced by law to offer customers the lowest tariff available.