A parallel universe

The Corporation issued new guidelines – doubtlessly produced at great expense – on appropriate forms of entertainment.

This response follows the furore two years ago when 6m-a-year presenter Jonathan Ross, aided and abetted by Russell Brand, publicly humiliated ex-Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs on Radio 2.

Common sense suggests that they went too far; it should not have necessitated the production of a time-consuming and cumbersome report.

This embarrassing episode could also have been avoided if the BBC had decisive leadership at the top.

Yet it now emerges that Yorkshireman Mark Byford, deputy director general for the past six years, a tenureship that covers the duration of the Ross scandal, will leave with a golden goodbye worth in excess of 500,000.

It just perpetuates the belief that the licence fee exists to line the pockets of top BBC executives, and unfunny entertainers, rather than provide quality programmes for the nation.