[h=3]By PAUL SONNE and CASSELL BRYAN-LOW[/h]LONDON—The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corp. resigned on Saturday night, stepping down a day after it emerged that the BBC's flagship current affairs program had aired a report accusing a former Conservative politician of sexual abuse on the basis of a flawed interview.
George Entwistle, who has been in the BBC's top job for just over 50 days, said he was resigning in light of the botched report, which aired on the BBC's "Newsnight" program on Nov. 2 and came in the middle of a separate BBC scandal over alleged serial sex abuse by one of the broadcaster's late TV hosts.
Getty ImagesBBC Director General George Entwistle speaks to reporters as he leaves Portcullis House in Parliament on Oct. 23.
On Friday, an alleged sexual-abuse victim who served as the main source for the Nov. 2 report said he had wrongly accused the former politician of being his attacker and said he identified the wrong man by mistake to the BBC.
"In the light of the fact that the Director-General is also the Editor-in-Chief and ultimately responsible for all content, and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the 'Newsnight' film broadcast on Friday, Nov. 2, I have decided that the honorable thing to do is to step down from the post of Director-General," Mr. Entwistle said in a televised statement Saturday night.
His resignation comes as the British broadcaster reels from a separate scandal over its handling of allegations that its late TV host, Jimmy Savile, sexually assaulted numerous adolescent or teenage girls before his death last year at the age of 84.
In the Savile matter, the BBC has been widely criticized for shelving a 2011 "Newsnight" report that would have exposed the longtime icon's alleged wrongdoing. This time, the BBC is under fire for a different "Newsnight" report, in which the featured victim now says he accidentally identified the wrong man to the BBC.
"When appointed to the [Director-General] 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," Mr. 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."
Christopher Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, which oversees the publicly-funded broadcaster, praised Mr. Entwistle's years of service on Saturday night but said the Director-General had decided to resign "because of the unacceptable mistakes and the unacceptable shoddy journalism which has caused so much controversy."
"This is undoubtedly one of the saddest evenings of my public life," Mr. Patten said, standing next to Mr. Entwistle in a sullen appearance before TV cameras.
Though the "Newsnight" report on Nov. 2 described the alleged perpetrator as only a "leading Conservative politician," a flurry of speculation on social media platforms and the Internet associated the program with Alistair McAlpine, a top Conservative Party figure under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and later a member of the House of Lords.
On Friday, Mr. McAlpine, 70 years old, denied any wrongdoing in a lengthy statement that called the allegations and speculation about him "wholly false and seriously defamatory." A few hours later, Steven Messham, the alleged abuse victim who appeared as the main witness on the BBC's "Newsnight" program last week, apologized to Mr. McAlpine.
Mr. Messham, who had initially identified Mr. McAlpine to "Newsnight," said in a statement released to the BBC on Friday that he had reviewed a photograph of Mr. McAlpine and determined the one-time Conservative politician wasn't the same man he had told "Newsnight." about. Mr. Messham issued "sincere and humble apologies" to Mr. McAlpine.
"We have to look at 'Newsnight.' The way in which they behaved, the way they trailed it, they made it obvious who it was, or who they alleged it was," Andrew Reid, a lawyer for Mr. McAlpine, said in a TV interview Friday.
"I wish to make it clear that I do not suggest that Mr. Messham is malicious in making the allegations of sexual abuse about me," Mr. McAlpine said in his statement Friday. He later added: "If he does think I am the man who abused him all those years ago I can only suggest that he is mistaken and that he has identified the wrong person."
The BBC, in a full apology aired on "Newsnight" Friday, named a senior executive—Ken MacQuarrie, the director of BBC Scotland—to write a report for the head of the BBC. It added that it was pausing "Newsnight" investigations "to assess editorial robustness and supervision."
At the end of Friday's program, presenter Eddie Mair said "Newsnight will be back on Monday, probably."
The Nov. 2 "Newsnight" revived a previous scandal involving child sex abuse allegations in North Wales care homes—where Mr. Messham and a second alleged victim resided—dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. An investigation by police in North Wales, which began in 1991, resulted in several convictions of former care workers.
But speculation continued that the actual abuse was on a much greater scale, and involved perpetrators outside the care-home system, than the convictions suggested. In 1996, the then-minister for Wales, William Hague—who is the current foreign secretary—called an inquiry led by retired judge Sir Ronald Waterhouse to investigate the matter.
In the Nov. 2 program, BBC's "Newsnight" said there were two alleged victims who said they had suffered "sexual abuse at the hands of a leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years." Ms. Thatcher was in office from 1979 to 1990. The show said one of those alleged victims was Mr. Messham. During the program, he said he had been taken to the unnamed man by car and was "sexually abused" by him more than a dozen times, and was subject to "basically rape." Mr. Messham also told the "Newsnight" program: "It wouldn't be just him, there would be other people involved as well."
Neither Mr. McAlpine's lawyer nor Mr. Messham could be reached for comment.
The second alleged victim previously told journalists working with the BBC of sexual abuse by the man in question ahead of a radio program that aired in 2000, according to "Newsnight." But the "Newsnight" team said they couldn't reach that second alleged victim ahead of last week's report.
George Entwistle, who has been in the BBC's top job for just over 50 days, said he was resigning in light of the botched report, which aired on the BBC's "Newsnight" program on Nov. 2 and came in the middle of a separate BBC scandal over alleged serial sex abuse by one of the broadcaster's late TV hosts.
Getty ImagesBBC Director General George Entwistle speaks to reporters as he leaves Portcullis House in Parliament on Oct. 23.
On Friday, an alleged sexual-abuse victim who served as the main source for the Nov. 2 report said he had wrongly accused the former politician of being his attacker and said he identified the wrong man by mistake to the BBC.
"In the light of the fact that the Director-General is also the Editor-in-Chief and ultimately responsible for all content, and in the light of the unacceptable journalistic standards of the 'Newsnight' film broadcast on Friday, Nov. 2, I have decided that the honorable thing to do is to step down from the post of Director-General," Mr. Entwistle said in a televised statement Saturday night.
His resignation comes as the British broadcaster reels from a separate scandal over its handling of allegations that its late TV host, Jimmy Savile, sexually assaulted numerous adolescent or teenage girls before his death last year at the age of 84.
In the Savile matter, the BBC has been widely criticized for shelving a 2011 "Newsnight" report that would have exposed the longtime icon's alleged wrongdoing. This time, the BBC is under fire for a different "Newsnight" report, in which the featured victim now says he accidentally identified the wrong man to the BBC.
"When appointed to the [Director-General] 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," Mr. 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."
Christopher Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, which oversees the publicly-funded broadcaster, praised Mr. Entwistle's years of service on Saturday night but said the Director-General had decided to resign "because of the unacceptable mistakes and the unacceptable shoddy journalism which has caused so much controversy."
"This is undoubtedly one of the saddest evenings of my public life," Mr. Patten said, standing next to Mr. Entwistle in a sullen appearance before TV cameras.
Though the "Newsnight" report on Nov. 2 described the alleged perpetrator as only a "leading Conservative politician," a flurry of speculation on social media platforms and the Internet associated the program with Alistair McAlpine, a top Conservative Party figure under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and later a member of the House of Lords.
On Friday, Mr. McAlpine, 70 years old, denied any wrongdoing in a lengthy statement that called the allegations and speculation about him "wholly false and seriously defamatory." A few hours later, Steven Messham, the alleged abuse victim who appeared as the main witness on the BBC's "Newsnight" program last week, apologized to Mr. McAlpine.
Mr. Messham, who had initially identified Mr. McAlpine to "Newsnight," said in a statement released to the BBC on Friday that he had reviewed a photograph of Mr. McAlpine and determined the one-time Conservative politician wasn't the same man he had told "Newsnight." about. Mr. Messham issued "sincere and humble apologies" to Mr. McAlpine.
"We have to look at 'Newsnight.' The way in which they behaved, the way they trailed it, they made it obvious who it was, or who they alleged it was," Andrew Reid, a lawyer for Mr. McAlpine, said in a TV interview Friday.
"I wish to make it clear that I do not suggest that Mr. Messham is malicious in making the allegations of sexual abuse about me," Mr. McAlpine said in his statement Friday. He later added: "If he does think I am the man who abused him all those years ago I can only suggest that he is mistaken and that he has identified the wrong person."
The BBC, in a full apology aired on "Newsnight" Friday, named a senior executive—Ken MacQuarrie, the director of BBC Scotland—to write a report for the head of the BBC. It added that it was pausing "Newsnight" investigations "to assess editorial robustness and supervision."
At the end of Friday's program, presenter Eddie Mair said "Newsnight will be back on Monday, probably."
The Nov. 2 "Newsnight" revived a previous scandal involving child sex abuse allegations in North Wales care homes—where Mr. Messham and a second alleged victim resided—dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. An investigation by police in North Wales, which began in 1991, resulted in several convictions of former care workers.
But speculation continued that the actual abuse was on a much greater scale, and involved perpetrators outside the care-home system, than the convictions suggested. In 1996, the then-minister for Wales, William Hague—who is the current foreign secretary—called an inquiry led by retired judge Sir Ronald Waterhouse to investigate the matter.
In the Nov. 2 program, BBC's "Newsnight" said there were two alleged victims who said they had suffered "sexual abuse at the hands of a leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years." Ms. Thatcher was in office from 1979 to 1990. The show said one of those alleged victims was Mr. Messham. During the program, he said he had been taken to the unnamed man by car and was "sexually abused" by him more than a dozen times, and was subject to "basically rape." Mr. Messham also told the "Newsnight" program: "It wouldn't be just him, there would be other people involved as well."
Neither Mr. McAlpine's lawyer nor Mr. Messham could be reached for comment.
The second alleged victim previously told journalists working with the BBC of sexual abuse by the man in question ahead of a radio program that aired in 2000, according to "Newsnight." But the "Newsnight" team said they couldn't reach that second alleged victim ahead of last week's report.