Foster: Producer not responsible

Friday, 31, Oct 2008 12:00

Don Foster, Liberal Democrat media spokesman, comments on the fallout from the Brand/Ross fiasco:

"Many people were offended by the antics of Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross who have both been dealt with appropriately. But for this to lead to the loss of one of the BBC's most talented producers is hugely disappointing.

"Lesley Douglas has made an enormous contribution to British radio and we have still seen no evidence that she was responsible for the failings that led to the show being broadcast.

"This resignation seems to have more to do with satisfying the media feeding frenzy than in working out what went wrong and ensuring it doesn’t happen again.

"The BBC has the impossible task of trying to appeal to all parts of the British audience. We should all think long and hard about what will happen to many of the wonderfully innovate BBC programmes, which many of us take for granted, if producers are no longer prepared to take risks."