BBC chief chastened by Saville scandal

Speaking at a lunch of political journalists in Westminster, Lord Patten said he now has “bigger rings” under his eyes following the crisis which rocked the BBC as allegations about Saville’s behaviour began to surface.

John Wittingdale, who chairs the Commons culture committee, said recently that Lord Patten looks a “very grey and tired man” following the scandal which ultimately forced out newly-appointed director-general George Entwhistle.

“The events of last autumn were pretty horrendous,” Lord Patten said, before jokingly thanking Mr Wittingdale for the “kind observations on how I look”.

“To be frank, I thought last autumn was pretty taxing,” he said. “I’d hate to go through anything like it again.

“But I guess the pressure on me was less than on one or two the people, and maybe years in Parliament of doing other jobs has given me a slightly thicker skin. I’m still alive... I have bigger rings under my eyes.”

Lord Patten, who was Tory party chairman between 1990 and 1992, also warned Conservative eurosceptics they could be sending the party down the path to “political suicide” if they show they are unwilling to accept British membership of the EU in any form.

The Tory peer, also a former EU Commissioner, said it was too early to say what reforms David Cameron will be able to achieve in the renegotiation of the UK’s membership he has promised if the Tories win the next election, but that it should be “perfectly possible” for the Prime Minister to reach a favourable outcome.