Two independent investigations – in the space of three years – have exposed a ‘culture of fear’ at the BBC. Dame Janet Smith and Dinah Rose QC found staff are deterred from reporting bullying, harassment and the abuse of power by the threat of victimisation or dismissal. The corporation intends to restore public trust in Auntie Beeb. It would benefit from reviewing Maistry v BBC, a claim of discrimination it defended unfairly and recklessly. Continue reading
Respect at Work Review
Truth to power
The BBC has been cleared of complicity in serial rape and predatory sexual abuse at the corporation. Staff were afraid to report the behaviour of star presenters Jimmy Savile (deceased) and Stuart Hall (convicted) leaving clues trapped in pockets at the bottom of the hierarchy. But the case for plausible deniability only highlights the cordon sanitaire that appears to conveniently isolate the top brass from the shop floor and the BBC from reality. Continue reading
A beautiful mind
If there’s a fringe benefit to litigation it is the opportunity to appreciate the refined elegance of the trained legal mind. It makes it easier to accept, if necessary, that you were wrong in law and flawed in argument. – careless and wasteful of the court’s time too. But it is equally a breach of trust, and the arbitrary exercise of power, to dispense justice laced with fallacy. Continue reading
Drowning Witches 