BBC Complaints

Complaint

We received complaints about prank calls made to Andrew Sachs by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross during Russell Brand's BBC Radio 2 show broadcast on 18 October.

The BBC's Response
Updated 21 November 2008

The BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee has now considered a full report from the BBC's Management on the BBC's response to the issues and complaints arising from this broadcast. Please follow the link on this page to read the Editorial Standards Committee's response to BBC Management's actions following this incident and the issues it raised. This forms the BBC Trust's response to complaints received under the final third stage of the BBC complaints process.


Previous responses issued by the BBC following complaints on this issue

Monday 27th October 2008

The BBC has received a letter of complaint from Mr Sachs' agent and would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Sachs for the offence caused. We recognise that some of the content broadcast was unacceptable and offensive. We are reviewing how this came about and have responded to Mr Sachs personally. We also apologise to listeners for any offence caused.


Wednesday 29 October 2008

The following statement has been issued on behalf of the BBC Director-General, Mark Thompson:

"I would like to add my own personal and unreserved apology to Andrew Sachs, his family and to licence fee payers for the completely unacceptable broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

BBC audiences accept that, in comedy, performers attempt to push the line of taste. However, this is not a marginal case. It is clear from the views expressed by the public that this broadcast has caused severe offence and I share that view.

Since Sunday, I have been in regular contact with the senior executives I tasked with handling this issue. The investigation that I instructed Tim Davie to conduct is nearing completion, and I am returning to London to review the findings and, in the coming days, announce what action we will take.

In the meantime, I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned.

This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered licence payers. I am determined that we satisfy them that any lessons will be learnt and appropriate action taken. I have been asked to report to the Trust's Editorial Standards Committee before the end of this week and will discuss with the Trust the findings of the report and the actions I propose."


Thursday 30 October 2008

The following statement has been issued on behalf of the BBC Director-General, Mark Thompson:

The BBC Director-General, Mark Thompson, reported to a meeting of the BBC Trust Editorial Standards Committee earlier today on the circumstances surrounding a broadcast of the Russell Brand Show on BBC Radio 2 on 18 October.

The Director-General made it clear that there had been a serious breach of editorial compliance that allowed grossly offensive material to be broadcast, which should never have happened. He also reiterated his regret that any suffering had been caused to Andrew Sachs, his granddaughter and family as a result and expressed regret that the broadcast had caused serious public offence.

Tim Davie, Director of BBC Audio & Music, reported on the known facts behind the making of the programme, its content and what had occurred during the editorial supervision and compliance of the broadcast.

The Director-General has accepted the resignation of Lesley Douglas, the Controller of BBC Radio 2, this morning.

The presenter Jonathan Ross will be suspended from all broadcasting for the BBC for a 12-week period, ending in mid-January 2009. He will not be paid by the BBC during this period: the fees that would have been paid will be deducted from his BBC contract.

Mark Thompson said: "The ultimate editorial responsibility for BBC programmes lies with producers and editorial managers. The consequences of errors of judgement are therefore more serious for managers. Nonetheless, Jonathan Ross's contribution to this edition of the Russell Brand Show was utterly unacceptable and cannot be allowed to go uncensured or without sanction. A 12-week suspension is an exceptional step, but I believe it is a proportionate response to Jonathan's role in this unhappy affair. Jonathan Ross has already made a comprehensive and unreserved personal apology to Andrew Sachs and his grand-daughter. I believe that he fully understands the seriousness of what has happened. I have made very clear to him the central importance of the clause in his contract about not bringing the BBC into disrepute. We agree that nothing like this must ever happen again and that tight discipline will be required for the future."

At the meeting with the BBC Trust, the Director-General outlined a series of proposed management actions to be carried out as a matter of urgency. After discussion, the Trust approved the following actions:

* A comprehensive review of compliance procedures across all radio output in the Audio & Music division to be carried out immediately by the Deputy Director-General, with recommendations for action to be delivered to the BBC Trust by December.

* With immediate effect, the Director of BBC Audio & Music will ensure that all programmes are re-assessed for editorial risk and all those identified as representing a high risk have additional and strong oversight.

* Special sessions will be held over the next six weeks, led by the Director-General and Deputy Director-General, to highlight to all senior editorial leaders and compliance staff across the BBC the serious editorial and compliance failures identified in this case, and the lessons to be learnt to prevent it happening again.

* BBC management's Editorial Standards Board will lead a study into where the appropriate boundaries of taste and standards should lie across all BBC output. The conclusions will be reported to the BBC Trust and will inform the revision of the BBC's Editorial Guidelines which is currently underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

A statement has also been issued by the BBC Trust which is available on their website.


Friday 7 November 2008

On 30 October 2008, the BBC Trust announced a range of actions it required of BBC management in relation to a serious editorial breach on the Russell Brand Show on BBC Radio 2 broadcast on 18 October.

The BBC Trust instructed that a broadcast apology be made to licence fee payers on BBC Radio 2 for the serious breaches, the terms of which it was to approve, and at a time of its direction.

The Trust's Editorial Standards Committee yesterday approved the following apology to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday 8 November 2008 at 10.03am and 9.03pm (the times when the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand shows would normally be broadcast on BBC Radio 2):

"On 18 October, the BBC broadcast an exchange between Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross on the Russell Brand show on Radio 2. This concerned the actor Andrew Sachs and his granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. Some of this exchange was left on the voicemail of Mr Sachs. The conversation was grossly offensive and an unacceptable intrusion into the private lives of both Mr Sachs and Ms Baillie. It was a serious breach of editorial standards, and should never have been recorded or broadcast. The BBC would like to apologise unreservedly to Mr Sachs, Ms Baillie and to our audiences as licence fee payers."