Earlier, the BBC had vowed a crackdown on staff misconduct after Jimmy Savile, the broadcaster’s “Top of the Pops” and “Jim’ll Fix It” host, was found to be a predatory sex offender after his death in 2011. As the sex abuse allegations against Savile appeared to have been dismissed during his life, the BBC was accused of covering up the abuse.
Years after the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) vowed to implement a “zero-tolerance” policy regarding bullying and harassment, misconduct continues to plague the broadcaster, reported The Times.
Figures revealed by a Freedom of Information Act disclosure show that while the BBC upheld or partially upheld 33 of 154 reported cases of such misconduct over the past two years, only one person was sacked.
Some 105 complaints were dismissed and 16 were withdrawn, allowing dozens of staff to retain their jobs despite having been implicated in sexual abuse, intimidation and harassment.
The company’s executives fail to adequately protect complainants, claim sources cited by the outlet.
The attitude adopted by the BBC is currently “more about protecting the institution than the individual”, said a source who had reportedly been involved in such a case.
Since 2013, when the BBC found itself under fire over the scandal involving its disgraced host Jimmy Savile, found to be a predatory sex offender only after his death in 2011, 508 formal cases of bullying and harassment have been registered. Of these, 32 were complaints of…
