BBC Left in Flux

LONDON: Tim Davie, who has stepped into the director-general role at the BBC on an acting basis in the wake of George Entwistle’s departure, has said that his job right now is to "get a grip of the situation."

This weekend Entwistle resigned in the wake of the Newsnight child-abuse scandal. "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 November 2; I have decided that the honorable thing to do is to step down from the post of director-general," Entwistle said in a statement. "When appointed to the 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. However, the wholly exceptional events of the past few weeks have led me to conclude that the BBC should appoint a new leader."

The organization made the quick move to place Davie, formerly the director of BBC Audio & Music who was set to become the new chief executive of BBC Worldwide in December, in the role on an acting basis. BBC’s director of news, Helen Boaden, and her deputy, Stephen Mitchell, have also stepped aside.

Speaking to BBC News, Davie called Entwistle an "honorable man" and said that his main focus now is to "get a grip of the situation and take action." He added, "Separately, I need a bit of time. I’ve just got into the job. I’m going to take a bit of time to look through the recommendations and then we’ll take the disciplinary process through and be fair to those individuals."

In an internal email to BBC staff, Davie promised to "work tirelessly on getting rid of anything that gets in the way of delivering the best of British creativity to our audiences. There will be no handbrake turn."