BBC head of news Helen Boaden quits amid child sex scandal that claimed George Entwistle

July 31, 2016

By Freya Petersen

A journalist is seen presenting in front of camera, outside the BBC’s New Broadcasting House in central London on November 11, 2012.
JUSTIN TALLIS

The BBC's head of news, Helen Boaden, has "stepped aside" — joining the fallout from a scandal over child sex claims that on Saturday claimed director general George Entwistle.

Entwistle resigned after a report on BBC's Newsnight led to a former conservative politician being wrongly accused of child abuse.

According to the BBC, Boaden was director of BBC News and Entwistle director of BBC Vision when a decision was made late last year not to broadcast a report on allegations of child sex abuse by former BBC presenter and comedian Jimmy Savile.

Tribute programs to Savile, who died last year, were then aired over the Christmas and New Year period.

The BBC is the subject of multiple investigations into claims that hundreds of people, some as young as 12, were sexually abused by Savile, The Telegraph noted.

More from GlobalPost: My life with sex criminal Jimmy Savile

The BBC published a biography of Boaden as news of her resignation broke, describing her as "one of the most powerful women in broadcasting."

Meanwhile, The New York Times has reportedly confirmed that ex-BBC director-general Mark Thompson would take over as chief executive of that company as planned on Monday despite questions about his tenure at the broadcaster.

Entwistle took over as director general from Thompson on Sept. 17.

Times columnist Joe Nocera has accused Thompson of "appearing willfully ignorant" about the the Savile scandal and questioned whether he is the right man for the job.

"[Thompson] is going to be CEO beginning November 12," a New York Times spokesman said on Sunday, according to the Telegraph.

The Times maintained its confidence in its new CEO, with NYT chairman Arthur Sulzberger saying in a statement in August that:

"Mark is a gifted executive with strong credentials whose leadership at the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital products and services."

Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, told Reuters on Sunday that a replacement for Entwistle would be found quickly as part of a radical overhaul of the corporation.