MPs criticise BBC's risk management
BBC told to open accounts to National Audit Office
Thursday, 06, Dec 2007 12:00
MPs have criticised the BBC for poor risk management, finding the corporation failed to anticipate many of the problems it has encountered in the past year.
A report by the Commons public accounts committee (PAC) warned this risked undermining the BBC's editorial integrity and endangering members of staff.
The Blue Peter phone-in scandal, which led to the BBC being fined after faking a competition winner, showed the corporation was "not doing enough to manage and anticipate risks," the report said.
MPs questioned whether the programme had anticipated the risks of a live phone-in competition.
Ofcom fined the BBC £50,000 after it was forced to use a studio guest to pose as a competition winner to ensure a smooth broadcast.
The kidnapping of BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza this year also suggested the corporation had not assessed the risks for employees working in hostile environments, the report continues.
Edward Leigh, PAC chairman, said today: "From the very real threats to the lives of its correspondents in war zones, to the dangers to its reputation of failing to deal fairly with its viewers and listeners, the BBC faces a multiplicity of risks.
"But the corporation and its managers at all levels are simply not doing enough to manage and anticipate those risks. This point was richly demonstrated in the case of the Blue Peter and other phone-in scandals."
The BBC Trust accepted the corporation faces a myriad of risks but said it was confident they were appropriately assessed.
In a statement it said: "Risk management is an important and complex responsibility for all organisations ... and particularly those employed by news organisations whose job is to report from dangerous parts of the world.
"The Trust is confident that the BBC management team is vigilant in monitoring and taking appropriate action to mitigate the necessary risks that some BBC journalists face when doing their jobs to provide independent and accurate reporting."
MPs identified a failure to achieve value for money as a key risk for the BBC.
The committee's report concluded this risk could be reduced if the National Audit Office (NAO) was given access to the corporation's accounts.
The Conservatives shadow media secretary Jeremy Hunt said the need for full NAO scrutiny was "more obvious by the day".
Mr Hunt said: "The BBC needs to get a grip of its risk management processes and allow the controller and auditor general full access.
"This report suggests that a patchy approach to risk played some part in the recent phone-in scandals - stronger procedures and independent audit may have prevented these damaging breaches in editorial standards."
The Liberal Democrats have long argued the BBC Trust is insufficiently independent to be allowed to check its own finances.
Today, Lib Dem media spokesman Don Foster said: "The NAO already has access to the accounts of other publicly funded bodies. Why should the BBC be any different?
"Given the need to re-establish trust in British broadcasting, independent and open scrutiny of the BBC is an essential step forward"