Helen Boaden, BBC News Chief, Steps Aside Over 'Newsnight' Abuse Scandal

Top BBC Execs Step Aside Over Scandal
Helen Boaden stands outside Broadcasting House, London. She was appointed controller of BBC Radio 4, succeeding James Boyle who retires at the end of March 2000. 22/07/04: Helen Boaden, who is to be the Director of BBC News. Currently controller of Radio 4 and BBC7, she takes over from Richard Sambrook, who is to take up a new post as director of the BBC's World Service.
Helen Boaden stands outside Broadcasting House, London. She was appointed controller of BBC Radio 4, succeeding James Boyle who retires at the end of March 2000. 22/07/04: Helen Boaden, who is to be the Director of BBC News. Currently controller of Radio 4 and BBC7, she takes over from Richard Sambrook, who is to take up a new post as director of the BBC's World Service.

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The two most senior figures at BBC News stepped aside on Monday a day after the chairman of the broadcaster's governing body said it needed a radical overhaul to survive a child sex abuse scandal, it said.

Helen Boaden, the director of BBC News, and her deputy Steve Mitchell, stepped aside two days after the director general quit to take the blame for the airing of false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.

The BBC's press office said it could not yet confirm the news but the BBC said on its news website that there would be an announcement later in the day.

The development is the latest blow to the corporation, which has been thrown into turmoil by revelations about a historic child sex abuse scandal and the broadcaster's problems with reporting the issue.

George Entwistle resigned as general director on Saturday, just two months into the job, to take responsibility for a report aired by the flagship Newsnight programme which wrongly accused a former politician of also being involved in child abuse.

Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, said on Sunday that he would work quickly to find a replacement for Entwistle while leading a radical overhaul of the corporation.

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