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Will the BBC "do a Murdoch" and close Newsnight?

The troubled current affairs show has suspended all investigations and a senior executive has been order to examine its botched report into allegations of child abuse at a Welsh care home.

The BBC, home of Newsnight. Photo: Getty
The Newsnight investigation has landed the programme in trouble. Photo: Getty

The BBC's flagship late-night current affairs show, Newsnight, is facing an uncertain future after a second scandal related to investigations of sexual abuse.

The Friday night edition of the programme carried an on-air apology for an investigation on 2 November which wrongly hinted that Tory peer Lord McAlpine was involved in a paedophile ring at the Bryn Estyn care home. Although McAlpine was not named on the show, the report stoked speculation on social media sites over his identity. He has since denied the allegations, and abuse victim Steve Messham has said that he wrongly identified him.

In a statement released yesterday, the BBC said:

1. A senior news executive has been sent in to supervise tonight’s edition of Newsnight

2. An apology will be carried in full on Newsnight tonight

3. Ken MacQuarrie, Director BBC Scotland, will write an urgent report for the DG covering what happened on this Newsnight investigation

4. There will be an immediate pause in all Newsnight investigations to assess editorial robustness and supervision

5. There will be an immediate suspension of all co-productions with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism across the BBC

The future of Newsnight is now being openly discussed, with its own presenter, Eddie Mair, asking a guest "Is Newsnight toast?" and concluding the programme by asking: "That's all we have for tonight. Newsnight will be back on Monday. Probably."

Yesterday's edition carried no editor's name on the credits - Peter Rippon having previously stepped aside over an "inaccurate" blog explaining why he decided not to run an expose of sexual abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile.

The fact that this is a second error relating to reports on historic child abuse is a catastrophe for Newsnight - particularly as the BBC's director-general, George Entwistle, used to work there. He was yesterday touring the studios (although only the BBC ones, rival outlets noted) to explain what happens next.

He said that shutting the programme down - as Rupert Murdoch did to the News of the World when the scandals there became too toxic - was a "disproportionate" response, although he acknowledged the BBC was suffering a "crisis of trust".

He told John Humphreys on Radio 4's Today programme that he expected Newsnight staff to be asked questions:

Did the journalists carry out basic checks? Did they show Mr Messham the picture? Did they put allegations to the individual? Did they think of putting allegations to the individual? If they did not why not? And did they have any corroboration of any kind? These are the things we need to understand because this film as I say had the legal referral, was referred up through the chain yet it went ahead. There's some complexity here I absolutely need to get to the bottom of.

23 comments

rensh's picture

What was the BBC’s response to the New Statesman’s special report:
“What the BBC did not tell us’ (19/2/1999)?

Tim Mann's picture

Why pick on the BBC for believing Mr Messham? I seem to recall the Prime Minister ordering a new Enquiry into child sex abuse based on testimony just such as his.
What about going after that policeman who allegedly showed Mr Messham a photo of a person claimong it was Lord McAlpine? That policeman is far more culpable in Lord McAlpine's distress than the BBC. But as several posts have pointed out, only the BBC should ever be blamed for anything these days.
Even Savile's dreadful deeds are all the Beeb's fault, it would seem.

zain's picture

It would indeed be a shame if it were to happen. Newsnight along with Channel 4 news at 7 ( only when Jon Snow's the presenter ) are the only 2 news programmes worth viewing. It would be a absolutely shame if the BBC's hierarchy were to cave into pressure. The only winners would be the Murdoch News network, Cameron Hunt & the rest of the Tory..ble party.

Patricia Wilkie's picture

The most disgraceful aspect of this wh0le sorry business is not Newsnight and the BBC, but the Social Media, the Guardian, Phillip Scofield, Tom Watson and the inelegantly vituperous press. All of them reduced the suffering of young boys being sold to and raped by rich well-connected men to the tittle tattle of a prurient society. Newsnight did well to rediscover the horrors of what happened.
The truth is that this witchhunt against Newsnight and the BBC is carried out by MEN, and they would rather attack the BBC than their own sex.

GMGERRY's picture

John Rudyy- good post!

The BBC should not only close Newsnight but it should - to quote Mitt Romney - "self-deport"...it is a foul, institutionally corrupt and vile organisation, as bad as the Murdoch criminal-media empire, different only in that it is funded by us, the poor licence fee payers, who are paying the salaries of the thousands of so-called managers that run this old-boys netwrok..off with their heads!

Why are British journalists so worthless, venal,,and incompetent?

kenelmist's picture

Another truly silly post.

RH47's picture

Well - be a bit forgiving. Anyone quoting Mitt Romney as a touchstone has problems with reality and the understanding thereof.

John Ruddy's picture

If the BBC were to follow the Murdoch example, they would close down Newsnight, then replace it a few weeks later with a program called "NightNews", staffed with the same people....

Anthony (Little Englander And Proud)'s picture

BBC - Boy Buggering Central should be disbanded and operate on a subscription only basis.

Boy Buggering Central went after the Murdoch's big time, now the tables have turned, oh the joy that brings to me. What with the odious Macshane being busted for fiddling expenses and now this, it's been a great couple of weeks.

How you like them apples ?

kenelmist's picture

What a silly response. The BBC is a wonderful institution, and Patten was right to underline this when talking to Marr. The BBC is trusted not only by people in the UK, but people around the world. This error is not the end of the world, nor the end of the BBC.

RH47's picture

Interesting how little attention is being paid to the Philip Schofield debacle in comparison.

I wonder why? Answer that question and you have sussed what all this is really about.

JimmyRushmore's picture

The BBC shouldn't cancel Newsnight. Sack everyone involved in the this farce, but not cancel the show itself.

Eddy S's picture

it should go the same way as NoW even though it's a good. the replacement could be better with better standards.

Agent's picture

No, I don't think it will.

p j wall's picture

Newsnight is one of the finest current affairs programmes on TV!, no doubt, they've had a few bad moments of late, but to say like the hysterical TORY MPs, the Right Wing toilet papers, Sky News, and rent an expert Steve Hewlett, are basically saying, Shut down the BBC, Sack everyone at the BBC, is pathetic!!, these people HATE the BBC!, it's payback time for them.
Why hasn't Patten (Tory) resigned?, the DG has done the correct thing to go, because he appeared to be out of his depth!, nice man, but didn't appear to be on top of his brief.
Should we shut Sky News down?, they acted like Fox News at the last election!, Adam Boulton, Kay Burley, etc!.
The BBC have had an incompetent bunch of News editors recently, especially the Newsnight team, but to round all of the BBC up is a joke!!, the BBC is one of the finest, independent, respected, institutions in the world!, even though we have a good moan about the licence fee!!.
What i find most disturbing about this latest episode of hysteria, is when all the establishment join together when one of their own is alleged to be involved in a Paedophile ring!!, nevermind all these poor abused children, who conveniently have been forgotten about in all of this!!, and the credibility of the victims, is now starting to be qustioned in some circles!!, how very convenient!!.
Now we know why most victims of SAVILE, never came forward, and the welsh childrens home, because they know they'll get shut down, and discredited by powerful people!!, so, in the end we talk about what Newsnight knew?,what this and that person knew?, instead of going after these EVIL PAEDOPHILES,and helping their victims of abuse!!!, SHAMEFUL!.

M .Wenzl's picture

Newsnight is great. Don't get rid of it.

Hugh C Markey's picture

Is the national newspaper which ran a campaign against ******** still available?Newsnight provides a staple diet of information covering politics in addition to discussing social and economic affairs.
How many national politicians and government ministers would like to avoid being grilled in the Newsnight h*t s**t? A majority!
Transparancy as a policy becomes very obvious the more a senior political figure s*****s.
Keep Newsnight and its very professional team of political pundits and interviewers.
The steps taken to establish the right and wrongs of this information were unbelievably sloppy. Innocent and public figures suffered.
Why the movements of these suspects was not checked defeats us. And an identification process of a rigorous kind seems essential in such circumstances.
However, the internet and its toxic offshoots is not being closed down. It gives criminality access to the innocent and the foolhardy besides embarrassing users on social media.

Level Playing Field

Hugh C Markey's picture

Is the national newspaper which ran a campaign against ******** still available?Newsnight provides a staple diet of information covering politics in addition to discussing social and economic affairs.
How many national politicians and government ministers would like to avoid being grilled in the Newsnight h*t s**t? A majority!
Transparancy as a policy becomes very obvious the more a senior political figure s*****s.
Keep Newsnight and its very professional team of political pundits and interviewers.
The steps taken to establish the right and wrongs of this information were unbelievably sloppy. Innocent and public figures suffered.
Why the movements of these suspects was not checked defeats us. And an identification process of a rigorous kind seems essential in such circumstances.
However, the internet and its toxic offshoots is not being closed down. It gives criminality access to the innocent and the foolhardy besides embarrassing users on social media.

Level Playing Field

Mbrecker's picture

Despite the obvious needs to get the facts right before you move forward with the story, in a sense talking about pedophiles is long overdue for many reasons:

For many, it's their worst nightmare. How many can face their worst nightmares head on?
Have you ever seen a MSM report on pedophiles that WASN'T sensationalized? Almost always these are done during ratings sweeps periods where the rule is if it bleeds it leads.
Yes, there are legalities that have to be observed in cases like this. However, do any attorneys or others feel silly when you have to have seperate catagories for alleged crimes like this?
How is sex abuse NOT rape? Do you say that purely for legal reasons? Or, is it just because that's the societal norm? Many sex abuse survivors would like an answer to that question.

Terrible But True's picture

'Troubled" gets my vote for understatement of the year.

Maybe they need Helen Boaden & half a dozen lawyers to find a sympathetic judge who dines with Chris 'back off, we only hold others to account' Patten and make it all go away with the FoI wand?

Again.

NickWC's picture

I think the BBC will have to close Newsnight but should start afresh with a programme called, maybe, Tonight produced by different journalists, hopefully competent ones.

NickWC's picture

I think the BBC will have to close Newsnight but should start afresh with a programmer called, maybe, Tonight produced by different journalists, hopefully competent ones.

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