BBC's Entwistle demanded £450,000 pay-off for resigning; new DG appointed today - Polidicks

[quote=BBC News][B]Former BBC director general George Entwistle was only prepared to resign for the £450,000 pay-off he would have received if sacked, MPs have been told.[/B] BBC Trustee Anthony Fry told the Public Accounts Committee of his "irritation" at having to pay the full sum, and not the £225,000 payable for a resignation. But he said he had felt the quickest way of removing Mr Entwistle was best. Mr Entwistle quit on 10 November after a Newsnight report led to Lord McAlpine being wrongly accused of child abuse. Mr Fry said that Mr Entwistle would have concluded from his meeting with the BBC Trust earlier that day that he no longer had its full confidence. His lawyers soon afterwards made it clear he would resign for the £450,000 pay-off, which represented a year's salary. "I had to take off my substantial irritation and think, what at this point is in the best interests of the BBC and the licence fee-payers?" said Mr Fry. "And I was very clearly of the view that trying to reach this accommodation quickly, to get an acting director general in place and to stabilise the organisation was by far and away more important than sitting on a moral high horse and trying to get the director general to change his mind under which he would leave." Letting the process drag on potentially for days, then sacking Mr Entwistle - who still retained significant staff support - would have further damaged morale at the BBC, Mr Fry said. "Did I feel good about it? Absolutely not." But he added: "I still think it was the right thing to do." [B]Fifty-four days[/B] Mr Entwistle announced his resignation that evening, saying that as editor-in-chief he was ultimately responsible for the "unacceptable journalistic standards" of the 2 November Newsnight film. He said that the report, covering cases of child abuse at north Wales care homes, should not have been broadcast. He had been in the job just 54 days, making him the BBC's shortest-serving director general. Mr Fry said: "I absolutely recognise that, from the viewpoint of the overwhelming number of licence fee-payers and your constituents, any of the numbers we talk about today are frankly in the stratosphere. "So whether it's £225,000 or £450,000, these are huge numbers and I fully recognise that." He revealed that the terms of Mr Entwistle's settlement also included: 12 months' private medical cover; up to £10,000 to cover legal fees related to his resignation; up to £25,000 worth of legal expenses for contributions to the inquiries into the Jimmy Savile scandal; and £10,000 for public relations. Committee chair Margaret Hodge said the details of the package highlighted a lack of "understanding of what the ordinary punter turning on the telly feels about it". "It demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of how this is viewed in the public domain, given that it is licence fee-payers' money," she said. "He took a public job, he was hugely well remunerated, he failed in 54 days - he gets incredibly rewarded for failure." BBC chief financial officer Zarin Patel explained that almost 600 managers were currently receiving private medical cover, but that it was no longer being offered to new senior managers.[/quote] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20441887[/url] [quote=BBC News][B]The chief executive of the Royal Opera House and the BBC's former director of news, Tony Hall, has been appointed the corporation's new director general.[/B] BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said Lord Hall was "the right person to lead the BBC out of its current crisis". Lord Hall, who starts next March, said he was "committed to ensuring our news services are the best in the world". The appointment follows the resignation of George Entwistle earlier this month after just 54 days in the job. Mr Entwistle quit on 10 November, saying that as editor-in chief he had to take "ultimate responsibility" for a Newsnight investigation that had led to the former Conservative Party treasurer, Lord McAlpine, being wrongly accused of child abuse. Sixty-one-year-old Lord Hall is due to take over the role - currently occupied by acting director general Tim Davie - in early March, on a salary of £450,000 a year. Culture Secretary Maria Miller offered her congratulations, saying Lord Hall had "a very strong track record in successfully leading iconic organisations". She added: "It is important now that Tony Hall gets to grips quickly - to provide the stability and certainty that the BBC needs, and restore public confidence." [B]'Long, hard look'[/B] The BBC needed "to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects", Lord Patten said. "Tony Hall is the right person to lead this." He went on: "Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. "As an ex-BBC man he understands how the corporation's culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world. "And from his vantage point outside the BBC, he understands the sometimes justified criticisms of the corporation - that it can be inward-looking and on occasions too institutional. "But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences." [B]News trainee[/B] Lord Hall said: "This organisation is an incredibly important part of what makes the United Kingdom what it is. And of course it matters not just to people in this country - but to tens of millions around the world too. "It's been a difficult few weeks - but together we'll get through it." Lord Hall joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1973 and during his 28 year career at the corporation oversaw the launch of Radio 5 live, the BBC News Channel, the BBC News website and BBC Parliament. He began his job at the Royal Opera House in 2001. In 2009 he joined the board of the organising committee for the London Olympics and also set up and chaired the board of the Games' arts festival, the Cultural Olympiad. He was made a cross-bench peer in 2010 as Lord Hall of Birkenhead. Lord Hall, who is currently deputy chairman of Channel 4 and sits on the board of the British Council, will be standing down from these roles before he takes up the post of director general. Mr Entwistle's resignation came after the BBC had already spent several weeks at the centre of a scandal over sexual abuse carried out by the late DJ and TV presenter Jimmy Savile. Police believe Savile may have abused 300 young people over a 40-year period.[/quote]

I don't think it is Entwistle demanding this £450,000. The terms are written into his contract, he is entitled to this money whether people like it or not. Ideally this contract should never have been made in the first place though.

[QUOTE=Mythman;38550991]I don't think it is Entwistle demanding this £450,000. The terms are written into his contract, he is entitled to this money whether people like it or not. Ideally this contract should never have been made in the first place though.[/QUOTE] It says right there at the top that he was entitled to £225,000 for resigning, but he said he'd only do it if they gave him £450,000

[QUOTE=smurfy;38552104]It says right there at the top that he was entitled to £225,000 for resigning, but he said he'd only do it if they gave him £450,000[/QUOTE] On Radio 4 today though it was made out that the BBC Trust basically told him to resign - in other words he was sacked, but off the record.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;38550826]What a greedy fuck. [editline]22nd November 2012[/editline] I'm so glad we aren't installing a satellite dish or antenna at our new house, with 60Mbit broadband there is no reason to pay for cunts like this and the shit the BBC serve up.[/QUOTE] so your not having a tv in your house?

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;38553151]One plugged into a PC yes, but without the ability to receive live terrestrial broadcasts (Freesat/Sky) the license fee doesn't apply.[/QUOTE] To use iPlayer you are required to have a TV license.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;38553447]Then its a good thing I don't use iPlayer, they have nothing worth watching. [editline]22nd November 2012[/editline] [url]http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/playing_tv_progs/tvlicence[/url] Also, you only need it for live TV streams, catch up you can watch for free.[/QUOTE] Okay, I disagree about nothing being worth watching though.

[QUOTE=smurfy;38552104]It says right there at the top that he was entitled to £225,000 for resigning, but he said he'd only do it if they gave him £450,000[/QUOTE] Actually, he is entitled to the whole £450,000 through a quirk in his contract. If he is to resign he has to give 12 months notice, thus he stays in the job for 12 months on £225,000. But if he goes immediately it counts as being sacked and thus he is entitled to the rest of that year's salary which is £450,000 (he had only been in the job for 2 months thus he gets one years salary). The BBC had a choice: Fire him now for £450,000 or let him stay on for 12 months with reputational damage the entire time for £225,000. Like I said, he is entitled to the money but the contract really shouldn't have been written like that in the first place. [editline]22nd November 2012[/editline] You can see why lawyers love this sort of stuff; big contracts like these are a complete mess

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;38553447]Then its a good thing I don't use iPlayer, they have nothing worth watching.[/QUOTE] QI

Please don't turn this into a list of BBC shows that are worth watching, especially when you're trying to prove someone who prides themselves on not having a t.v wrong. As they say: How do you know if someone doesn't watch t.v? [sp]They'll tell you.[/sp]