UNITED KINGDOM
China Daily
A sex scandal gripping Britain’s BBC deepened on Wednesday with claims that a pedophile ring had existed involving some of its stars, as its former director-general said his handling of the case shouldn’t stop him becoming the boss of the New York Times.
The BBC has been thrown into disarray by accusations it helped cover up sexual abuse by one of its most celebrated former presenters, Jimmy Savile, and has struggled to explain why one of its own shows killed an investigation into it.
The broadcaster’s current Director-General George Entwistle has been condemned for his handling of one of the worst crises in the corporation’s 90-year history, and questions have also been raised about his predecessor Mark Thompson, who is set to take over at the New York Times next month.
The British government warned the BBC on Wednesday that the scandal was raising “very real concerns” about public trust. …
Lawyers representing some of the male and female victims, some of whom were as young as 8 when the abuse occurred, said their clients had indicated an organized pedophile ring involving other celebrities had existed at the BBC during the height of Savile’s fame in the 1970s and 1980s.
“There is information of a possible pedophile ring, and we have people who have approached us with that information,” said Alicia Alinia, one of the lead lawyers involved in the cases for the Slater and Gordon law firm.
“It seems to be a number of people who were involved other than Jimmy Savile, I can’t reveal any specific names of celebrities involved, but it seems as though it wasn’t just limited to unknowns.”
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