BBC director general resigns after erroneous child abuse report
George Entwistle, director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation, said Saturday that he would step down amid controversy over the broadcasting of false claims by a sex abuse victim.
“When appointed to the role, with 23 years experience as a producer and leader of the BBC, I was confident the trustees had chosen the best candidate for the post,” he said. “However, the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader.”
The BBC has issued a formal apology for broadcasting false claims by a sex abuse victim that a senior political figure of the 1980s had abused him, in the latest in a series of painful missteps by the UK public broadcaster.