Jimmy Savile Sexual Assault Allegations

The request was successful.

Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

I am making this request for information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

On Wednesday, 3rd October 2012 ITV broadcast a programme called "Exposure - The Other Side of Jimmy Savile". The programme, which was well publicised in advance of being broadcast, contained several allegations about former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile.

Under ther terms of the 2000 Act please provide me with all information the BBC holds in relation to the broadcast of "Exposure - The Other Side of Jimmy Savile" on ITV on 3rd October 2012. My request for information includes that contained in relevant letters and emails generated by the BBC, their staff, or others acting on their behalf.

I will also add that as the programme has already been broadcast on a rival TV channel I would not expect the BBC to avoid disclosure citing the "journalism, art or literature" exemptions of the Act.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Jones

Peter Jones left an annotation ()

In anticipation that the BBC's response, if they bother to provide one, will attract media attention I shall highlight that this request was brought to you by the TV Licensing Blog: http://tv-licensing.blogspot.com

We're here to highlight the unjust persecution of legitimate non-viewerrs at the hands of the BBC and TV Licensing.

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

Dear Mr Jones,

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was received on 6th October 2012. We will deal with your request as promptly as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.

The reference number for your request is RFI20121054.

Kind regards

The Information Policy & Compliance Team

BBC Freedom of Information
Room 2252, BBC White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS

www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: [BBC request email]

Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398

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Peter Jones left an annotation ()

I'm guessing the BBC don't work past 5 pm on a Friday night, so it would appear that they have failed, yet again, to comply with the statutory time limit for responding.

People must be heartened at how highly the BBC regard the rule of law, particularly in the wake of the Savile sex scandal.

Stephanie Simmonds, British Broadcasting Corporation

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Jones,

 

Please find attached a response to your FOI request, RFI20121054.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stephanie Simmonds

 

Stephanie Simmonds | Senior Advisor * | BBC Information Policy and
Compliance | BC2 B6, Broadcast Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP |
[BBC request email]

 

 

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Peter Jones left an annotation ()

Well, this is a turn up for the books. Eating a slice of humble pie here as it appears the BBC FOIA people do actually work late on a Friday night.

As this reply landed just after 8 pm I can only surmise they are trying to clear their backlog of requests.

Feeling a little bit aggrieved that they're delaying their response, as I made my request well before they announced their inquiries.

I think it's quite clear that there are documents they don't want the public to see, as they will probably reinforce what we're all thinking anyway - BBC cover up!

Mark Salter left an annotation ()

The response explains:-
"
The Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly and in any case no longer than 20 working days after receiving the request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to the information and the public interest test is engaged, section 10 of the Act allows the time for a response to be longer than 20 working days. A full response must be provided within such time as is reasonable in all circumstances of the case.
"

Whatdotheyknow.com provides the following explanation:-

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...

I wonder what is "exceptionally complex" about replying to this straightforward foia request?

Peter Jones left an annotation ()

Having read section 36 of the Act, which is the exemption they're relying on, it seems to afford them the opportunity to refuse pretty much anything on the grounds of smooth public administration. It appears to be a "one-size-fits-all" cop out of providing a response.

Stephanie Simmonds is a smart arse lawyer, so I'm sure she's thought very carefully about the best way of avoiding a response.

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for your email with regard to RFI20121054, although the information you have provided does not satisfy my requirements at this stage.

I shall be most displeased if it does take the BBC until 14 December to weigh up the public interest in disclosure. The ICO makes it quite clear that no FOIA case should ever take longer than 40 working days to deal with, even those involving the most complicated of public interest considerations.

That being the case I will be expecting a BBC final response by 30th November at the absolute latest, ideally as soon as a decision is made.

I am in no doubt at all that the public interest is best served by complete and transparent disclosure. I appreciate that disclosure is probably not in the best interests of the BBC, although that is of no consideration in law.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Jones

Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

I am writing to request an internal review of your handling of my request for information, RFI20121054.

You have failed to provide the very limited information I requested, explaining that you consider the qualified exemption in s. 36 of the 2000 Act applies. You have now exceeded the Information Commissioner's guideline that it should never take longer than 40 working days to consider a qualified exemption. I appreciate it is just a guideline, as the BBC will no doubt remind me.

In plain English, for the benefit of my Whatdotheyknow.com readers, your argument is that disclosing the information may prejudice the effective conduct of the BBC's affairs. As I have mentioned in previous requests, I believe the BBC is more concerned about face-saving than compliance with the 2000 Act. The licence fee paying public will be very concerned that the BBC, in what should be a new era of transparent accountability, is choosing to hide behind legislation to protect more of its secrets.

I would draw to your attention that fact that my request was made in advance of the BBC's announcement of the Pollard review - a review, manufactured under the terms of the BBC, which has no legal standing whatsoever.

There is massive public interest in how the BBC has responded to the Jimmy Savile sex scandal. People are curious as to why the BBC knew about the Savile sex abuse allegations a year ago, but chose to brush them under the carpet until their hand was forced by ITV.

I would conclude that disclosing information relevant to my request is unlikely to cause further embarrassment to the BBC.

I do not expect the processing of this review request to delay disclosure any further.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Jones

Barbara Richards left an annotation ()

I am one of the Staffordshire Pindown child abuse victims, and I am very upset about the program the BBC made which was fronted by Neil Morrissey, Care Home Kid. The home it focussed on was called Riverside Secure Unit, but while I was there it was called Chadswell Assessment Centre and had also been called The Wissage.

I am still fighting to get to the truth of what happened to me as a child, its been one big cover up after another. All I know is that it was a horrible hell home that was being used as a pimping house for kid fiddlers whilst I was there, and that I spent most of the time locked up in a cell.

The BBC knew full well I wanted to be in any program about that place, and that I have written a book about my experience there, called Tip by Zoompad, and they have had several copies of that book, but they didnt let me go on their program, and the program was a whitewash, and very upsetting for me to watch. There was nothing in that program about the Allan Levy QC/Barbara Kehen Pindown report being taken out of all the public libraries in Staffordshire, and being taken out of print, and therefore becoming unavailable to victims of Pindown, and there should have been.

I am being persecuted by paedophiles, because I run an anti child abuse blog, earlier this year I reported a death threat made on my blog to Stafford police and was treated in a very frightening way by the police, and told that I was an attention seeking mental health case.

The BBC have covered up institutional child abuse, not just the Jimmy Saville stuff but other stuff as well.

Barbara Richards left an annotation ()

At least, I think that Chadwell Assessment Centre was all those three places, from what my solicitor Richard Wise (who is now dead) told me. It was Chadswell Assessment Centre while I was there.

But I can't get anyone in authority to talk about it, all they want to do is cover up the abuse.

Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

I have still not received a response to my request for information, RFI20121054.

You said that you hoped to provide a reply no later than 14 December 2012, which was still well in excess of the statutory time limit for response.

I'm still waiting.

Yet again.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Jones

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

Dear Mr Jones,

We have received your request for an internal review relating to our response to RFI20121054. Your request for an internal review was received on 1st December 2012. I apologise for the delay in formally acknowledging your request for an internal review.

We shall deal with the review as promptly as possible and, at the latest, within 30 working days. If you have any queries please contact us at the address below.

The reference number for your internal review is IR2012053.

BBC Information Policy and Compliance
BC2 B6, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London, W12 7TP

Website: www.bbc.co.uk/foi/
Email: [BBC request email]
Tel: 020 8008 2883
Fax: 020 8008 2398

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Dear FOI Enquiries,

Is this some sort of joke? You've maintained the pretence that you were going to provide me with a response to my request for information (RFI20121054) by 14 December 2012, but you still haven't bothered.

As you've failed to provide a substantive response, how do you propose to conduct an internal review? Or is the plan to spin things out for another 30 working days and then tell me that an internal review isn't possible because you haven't issued a response?

Familiar as I am with the BBC's comical interpretation of "Freedom of Information", even my sense of humour is beginning to wane by now.

How much longer can I expect to wait for a final response?

Yours sincerely,

Peter Jones

Barbara Richards left an annotation ()

I have tweeted this FOI as I think it is important for other people need to see how the BBC are failing to answer FOI requests promptly

FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Jones

 

Please find attached your response and the first of 4 disclosure documents
in respect of your request RFI20121054 – as explained in the response,
please accept our apologies for the delay that has occurred in the
processing of your request, and for the inconvenience caused.

 

Due to the size of the attachments, I am splitting the documents into 2
emails. Please let me know if either of these is not received by you, or
if there is any difficulty opening the attachments.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Louise Lander

 

BBC Information Policy and Compliance

 

BC2B6, Broadcast Centre

201 Wood Lane

London W12 7TP, UK

 

Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi

Email: [2]mailto:[BBC request email]

Tel: 020 8008 2882

Fax: 020 8008 2398

 

 

 

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FOI Enquiries, British Broadcasting Corporation

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Jones

 

In case email 1 has not yet processed through the website, I am sending
you two separate emails with the response and disclosure documents for
RFI20121054. This is email 2 of 2, containing documents 2-4. Please let me
know if you do not receive both the emails.

 

Please accept my apologies for the delay that has occurred in our
responding to this request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Louise Lander

 

 

BBC Information Policy and Compliance

 

BC2B6, Broadcast Centre

201 Wood Lane

London W12 7TP, UK

 

Website: [1]www.bbc.co.uk/foi

Email: [2]mailto:[BBC request email]

Tel: 020 8008 2882

Fax: 020 8008 2398

 

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi
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Peter Jones left an annotation ()

Finally, after 7 months of the BBC Trust's much heralded "new era of BBC accountability and transparency" they have bothered to comply with the law and issue a response.

Anyone using this information is asked to please credit our blog as the source: http://tv-licensing.blogspot.co.uk

We're here to highlight the unjust persecution of legitimate non-viewers at the hands of the BBC and TV Licensing.