Accessibility links Skip to content Skip to local navigation Accessibility Help bbc.co.uk navigation News Sport Weather Capital Culture Autos TV Radio More… Search term: 
UK Home UK Africa Asia Europe Latin America Mid-East US & Canada Business Health Sci/Environment Tech Entertainment Video England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales UK Politics Education 9 September 2013Last updated at 11:40 GMT Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Ex-BBC chief Mark Thompson to be quizzed on pay-offs BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten: "I hope we can manage it in a relatively dignified way" Continue reading the main storyRelated StoriesQ&A: BBC pay-off scandalBBC pay-off row: Key playersBBC Trust denies pay-off claims Former BBC director general Mark Thompson will face MPs later, after accusing the trust which oversees the corporation of "fundamentally misleading" Parliament over pay-offs. The BBC Trust says the claims are bizarre and denies MPs were misled.
Mr Thompson is one of seven senior BBC figures being questioned over the size of severance deals at the corporation.
The BBC has been criticised for paying £25m to 150 outgoing executives - £2m more than their contracts necessitated.
BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten and the BBC head of human resources Lucy Adams will also appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday.
Speaking ahead of the hearing, Lord Patten said he hoped the issue of severance could be discussed "without too much bitterness or wrangling because that is bad for the BBC".
Last week, Ms Adams said she made a mistake when she told MPs in an earlier hearing she did not know about an email concerning pay-offs to top executives.
'Shocked'They will be joined by BBC trustee Anthony Fry, former trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons, trust director Nicholas Kroll and a former senior independent director, Marcus Agius.
Continue reading the main storyAnalysisDavid SillitoArts CorrespondentWhat's at stake here are reputations. Mark Thompson is said to be furious about the way the trust pointed the finger at him for allegedly leaving them in the dark over pay-offs. The man who is now chief executive of the New York Times wants to clear his name.
In response, the BBC Trust has called his comments "bizarre" and "unsubstantiated". It now has to prove that.
If it doesn't, two things are at stake. First the reputation of the chairman, Lord Patten. To be accused of sitting before MPs supporting a case that Mark Thompson says is "fundamentally misleading" is serious.
Secondly, the trust itself wants to prove it is up to the job of overseeing the BBC. MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have already castigated it for not doing more about pay-offs over the past six years.
With the debate over the renewal of the BBC's Charter not that far off, the Trust will certainly want to be seen to be "trustworthy".
The BBC has already accepted the pay-offs were wrong. The seven senior BBC executives, past and present, are today arguing over the issues of blame and responsibility.
The hearing is a follow-up to a similar hearing in July which saw Lord Patten tell MPs he was "shocked and dismayed" by pay-offs totalling £25m to senior managers made between 2009 and 2012.He said that if Mr Thompson was called before MPs, he would be "as interested as you are, why we didn't know" about the payments.
Mr Thompson - who left the BBC last year and is now chief executive of the New York Times newspaper - did not give evidence at that hearing.
But later, at central London's Portcullis House, he will be expected to answer allegations made in July that he had not been open with the trust about pay-offs to two senior executives - former deputy director-general Mark Byford and former marketing chief Sharon Baylay.
Ahead of the hearing, Mr Thompson sent a letter to the PAC, saying statements by Lord Patten were inaccurate and the trust chairman had been "fully briefed" about the two settlements.
He also said he had emails which showed that trust members approved the payments.
Mr Thompson's 13,000-word document included a briefing note prepared for Lord Patten on defending the size of the payments.
Another attachment challenged Ms Adams' claim that she did not know of an email explaining the pay-offs, and appeared to show that she helped to compose it.
Continue reading the main storyBBC Trust meant to act as the "guardian" of licence payers' money and ensure the BBC fulfils its remit to inform, educate and entertain sets the BBC's strategy, approves how and where money is spent, sets editorial guidelines and reviews the performance of all BBC services its chairman, Lord Patten, and 12 trustees are separate from the BBC's executive board, which is led by the director general and controls the day-to-day running of the corporation - in line with a framework set by the trust also responsible for protecting the BBC's independence It has emerged Ms Adams had earlier admitted she made a mistake in her evidence to MPs and had not recognised the email from its description.The BBC Trust said it rejected the suggestion that Lord Patten and Anthony Fry misled the PAC.
It also denied Mr Thompson's claim it approved a £949,000 severance package for Mr Byford and said it had been "assured that the package was within contractual terms".
The biggest severance payments included:
Mark Byford, deputy director general, 31 years of service - £949,000 Jana Bennett, executive director, 33 years - £687,333 Departmental director, 25 years - £866,300 Caroline Thomson, chief operating officer, 17 years - £680,400 Controller, 31 years - £476,700 George Entwistle, director general, 23 years - £470,300 Departmental director, 2 years - £394,500 Controller, 26 years - £381,600 Roly Keating, departmental director, 29 years - £376,000 (money returned minus tax) Project director, 19 years - £356,200 Head of department, 33 years - £347,900The PAC meeting in July followed the publication of a report in which the National Audit Office criticised the corporation, saying the scale of the payments risked public trust.
More on This Story .related-links-list li {position: relative;}.related-links-list .gvl3-icon {position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;} Related Stories Q&A: BBC pay-off scandal 09 SEPTEMBER 2013, ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS BBC pay-off row: Key players 09 SEPTEMBER 2013, ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS BBC Trust denies pay-off claims 06 SEPTEMBER 2013, ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS Ex-BBC chief Thompson accuses Trust 06 SEPTEMBER 2013, UK Related Internet links Public Accounts Committee Around the BBC BBC - BBC Trust - BBC Trust The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print More UK stories RSS
UK economy turning corner - OsborneThe UK economy is "turning a corner", Chancellor George Osborne says during a speech in London.
Hague: US and UK 'aligned' on SyriaMurder case officer may face charges Top Stories
Riskier not to strike Syria, US says Putin ally wins Moscow mayor poll New Van Gogh painting identified China school blast leaves two dead Thai plane skids off Bangkok runway Features & Analysis
Adieu, freedom fries How US and France healed wounds inflicted by Iraq
Happy snapper WatchMy secret life as a street photographer
Match pointsUsing data to predict the 2013 US Open champion
Divisive legacyChile commemorates the Pinochet coup, 40 years on
Most PopularShared 1: 'Baby-faced' people live longer 2: Blunt 'prevented World War III' 3: US police shoot 107-year-old suspect 4: Why Minecraft is more than just another video game 5: Lucozade and Ribena sold for £1.35bn Read 1: Riskier not to strike Syria, US says 2: 'Baby-faced' people live longer 3: Mandela ‘no saint’ in new biopic 4: New Van Gogh painting identified 5: Blunt 'prevented World War III' 6: America's oldest ally in from the cold 7: 'Too fat' chef in NZ visa reprieve 8: Man survives four-month Andes ordeal 9: Thai plane skids off Bangkok runway 10: US police shoot 107-year-old suspect Video/Audio 1: My secret life as a street photographer Watch 2: Kim Jong-Un at huge N Korea parade Watch 3: Vietnam's 'children of Agent Orange' Watch 4: Kerry: 'Risk of not acting greater' Watch 5: Illusion of normality in Damascus Watch 6: One-minute World News Watch 7: How 'super' is broccoli ? Watch 8: New Van Gogh painting unveiled Watch 9: Virgin spaceship passes milestone Watch 10: Eleven die in Guatemala bar attack Watch Elsewhere on the BBC
Travel talesHave you had an unforgettable experience? BBC Travel wants to turn your stories into short cartoons
Programmes
Fast Track WatchWhere to go whale watching and other must-see events and places around the world over the coming weeks
Services Mobile Connected TV News feeds Alerts E-mail news About BBC News Editors' blog BBC College of Journalism News sources Media Action Editorial Guidelines BBC links Mobile siteTerms of UseAbout the BBC Advertise With UsPrivacyAccessibility Help Ad ChoicesCookiesContact the BBC Parental Guidance
BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
No comments:
Post a Comment