BBC row: Ross banned for 12 weeks as Radio 2 chief goes
BBC bans Jonathan Ross for 12 weeks without pay over prank calls to actor Andrew Sachs with Russell Brand
Also In The News
|
A woman's attempt to gain a clarification in the law over assisted suicide has been rejected by the high court. |  |
Thursday, 30, Oct 2008 08:29
The BBC has banned Jonathan Ross for 12 weeks without pay over prank calls to the actor Andrew Sachs he made with Russell Brand.
The suspension was confirmed by director general Mark Thompson minutes after Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas announced her resignation.
A statement said Ross, the corporation's highest paid employee, would be banned from broadcasting on the BBC until January 2009, with pay being deducted from his contract.
Mr Thompson explained that Ross, a guest on Brand's Radio 2 show when they left messages on Sachs' mobile phone about having sex with his granddaughter, was guilty of a "serious breach" of editorial compliance over the "grossly offensive" material.
"Jonathan Ross's contribution to this edition of the Russell Brand show was utterly unacceptable and cannot be allowed to go uncensored or without sanction. A 12-week suspension is an exceptional step, but I believe it is a proportionate response to Jonathan's role in this unhappy affair," Mr Thompson explained.
"Jonathan Ross has already made a comprehensive and unreserved personal apology to Andrew Sachs and his grand-daughter. I believe that he fully understands the seriousness of what has happened. I have made very clear to him the central importance of the clause in his contract about not bringing the BBC into disrepute. We agree that nothing like this must ever happen again and that tight discipline will be required for the future."
Earlier Ms Douglas wrote to Mr Thompson announcing her resignation. Brand has already quit his Radio 2 show over the row.
More than 30,000 complaints have now been received by the BBC over the radio presenters' lewd voicemails to Sachs in which they joked about having sex with his granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, and the Fawlty Towers actor committing suicide.
In a letter written to BBC director general Mark Thompson, Ms Douglas said the last week had been "painful" for both the BBC and Radio 2.
She said her decision to resign, which was taken with enormous regret, was hers alone.
"The events of the last two weeks happened on my watch. I believe it is right that I take responsibility for what has happened," she said.
"It is a matter of the greatest possible sadness to me that a programme on my network has been the cause of such a controversy.
"I would like to take this opportunity to offer my personal apology to Andrew Sachs and his family and to the audience for what has happened."
In his reply, Mr Thompson said he accepted Ms Douglas' resignation with "real sadness", a feeling he said would be shared across the BBC and the music industry.
But Ms Douglas' resignation may not be the end of the story, with inquiries underway from Ofcom, the BBC's director of audio and music and the BBC Trust.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Brand said he accepted "full responsibility" for his actions.
"I have apologised to Andrew Sachs for the rude messages I left on October 18th and he has graciously accepted," he said.
"As I only do the radio show to make people laugh I've decided that given the subsequent coverage I will stop doing the show.
"I got a bit caught up in the moment and forgot that at the core of the rude comments and silly songs were the real feelings of a beloved and brilliant comic actor and a very sweet and big hearted young woman.
"Apologies are also owed to the loyal listeners of the show who enjoyed its shambolic spirit and anarchy and will be upset that it cannot continue."
Ross had already said in a statement: "I am deeply sorry and greatly regret the upset and distress that my juvenile and thoughtless remarks on the Russell Brand show have caused."
Mr Thompson has pledged a full review of the BBC's compliance procedures over the row.
From now on the director of BBC audio and music must reassess all programmes for content, while special sessions to highlight the failures of the offending show are to be held with managers and the BBC editorial standards board is to study the appropriate boundaries of taste and standards.
The report is expected to be published in the new year, by which time Ross will be able to broadcast on the BBC.