Jimmy Savile scandal left BBC frantic: Chris Patten
Chris Patten describes broadcaster as badly run, and unable to deal with chaos unleashed by allegations former TV host was paedophile
Chris Patten, the BBC Trust chairman, has painted a vivid picture of the chaos that engulfed the corporation's senior management during last autumn's Jimmy Savile crisis, saying there was an impression of "frantic faffing about" around former director general George Entwistle.
In 3,000 pages of e-mails and interviews published yesterday, the BBC's top officials have harsh words for the institutional culture of BBC, which has seen its reputation been tarnished by a paedophilia scandal.
During his appearance before the BBC internal inquiry on the Savile scandal, Patten blamed the "horrible screw-up" surrounding the scandal on the management legacy of the corporation's former director general Mark Thompson, as well as the failings of his successor Entwistle.
Patten's evidence lifts the lid on both the extraordinary 54 days of Entwistle's reign as director general - he resigned in November after being overwhelmed by the Savile scandal in which the late broadcaster was accused of serial child abuse - but also "a silo" management structure that he inherited from Thompson, who left the BBC in September.
[Patten] said the corporation under Thompson, director general for eight years, had 'more senior leaders than China'
He said the corporation under Thompson, director general for eight years, had "more senior leaders than China", with 25 to 27 staff on the senior management team. "They never met," Patten added.
But he added that it was not lack of management at the BBC that caused things to be "horribly screwed up" during the Savile crisis - the problem was the weak team around Entwistle.