Acting BBC chief Diane Coyle accused of colluding in Savile cover-up

Diane Coyle tipped to become the next chairman of the BBC Trust

As it is claimed she allowed vital facts to remain hidden from the public

Culture Secretary urged to investigate whether she is fit to be chairman

A leading candidate to become the next chairman of the BBC Trust was last night accused of ‘colluding’ in a cover-up over the Jimmy Savile scandal.



Diane Coyle, acting chairman of the Trust, was one of four trustees who attended a meeting last December to discuss allegations that former director-general Mark Thompson knew about Savile’s abuse almost a year before he left the Corporation.



The BBC Radio Forum, whose 4,000 members include BBC producers, and the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which campaigns for better use of public money, have written to Culture Secretary Sajid Javid urging him to investigate whether Ms Coyle is a ‘fit and proper person’ for the £110,000-a-year post. Mr Javid is overseeing the appointment.

Diane Coyle, acting chairman of the BBC Trust, is accused by the BBC Radio Forum of colluding to allow vital facts about Savile's offering to remain secret

They write: ‘She has colluded in allowing vital facts to remain hidden from public view.’



The groups allege Ms Coyle helped to exclude from public view which executives allegedly knew about claims against the late DJ, and when they were first told of them.

Last December Nick Pollard, who chaired a BBC inquiry into why a Newsnight investigation of Savile was axed, admitted he had excluded from his final report the claim about Mr Thompson.



Despite listening to a recording of Pollard saying he made a ‘mistake’ by excluding this evidence, the trustees opted to leave the report unchanged.



Savile died in October 2012 and had hundreds of victims, and the BBC Radio Forum allege Ms Coyle helped to hide which executives allegedly knew about claims made against him, and when they were first told of them