Curiouser and curiouser. Tory MP Rob Wilson, who has taken a close interest in the BBC/Savile scandal, tells me he wrote to The New York Times last week raising questions about its new chief executive, Mark Thompson, the former BBC director-general.
Oddly, the paper has told Wilson it never received his awkward missive.
Wilson’s letter, passed to the Londoner, was designed to challenge Thompson’s claims that he “never heard any allegations” about Savile while he ran the BBC. Just 10 days before he left the BBC in September Thompson threatened to sue The Sunday Times if it published allegations about his knowledge of the Savile scandal but other recently unearthed material shows Thompson was emailed about the Savile scandal by two aides in February.
Wilson’s letter, emailed to the New York Times on December 4, reads: “New claims reported in Britain on December 2 that Mr Thompson was emailed by two close BBC aides about the Savile scandal on February 8 have left me uncomfortable about his statement to me in a letter on October 23 that he ‘never heard any allegations’ about Savile during his time as BBC director-general. Mr Thompson has not answered three letters I have sent him seeking clarification since October 23. Mr Thompson must now give a clear public account of what he knew and when.”
Wilson tells me: “I’m very surprised by the behaviour of The New York Times. They obviously don’t want to address the difficult position they find themselves in regarding Mark Thompson.” A New York Times spokesman declines to comment.
