Chair Of BBC Trust Faces Grilling Over Savile

The chairman of the BBC Trust will face questions from MPs later over the corporation's £450,000 pay-off to former director general George Entwistle.

Lord Patten is to appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee amid continuing anger at Westminster over the award of a full year's salary to Mr Entwistle, who spent just 54 days in the job.

He was forced to quit after BBC2's Newsnight wrongly implicated the former Conservative Party treasurer Lord McAlpine in a child abuse scandal, leading to him being paid £185,000 in compensation from the broadcaster.

Mr Entwistle had been under fire for weeks over his response to the Jimmy Savile scandal and his decision to continue with tribute programmes to the late DJ last Christmas even though he was the subject of an earlier Newsnight investigation.

There was incredulity among MPs when it emerged last week that Mr Entwistle had insisted on 12 months salary before resigning - even though he was contractually entitled to just half that amount.

He also received £35,000 for legal expenses and £10,000 for public relations, plus 12 months private medical cover.

Now some MPs are gunning for Lord Patten arguing that it is impossible to justify such large sums to licence fee payers at a time of economic austerity.

The hearing will cover both the dropped Newsnight investigation into Savile and its botched report on the North Wales children's home abuse scandal of the 1970s and 1980s.

Lord Patten will appear along with acting director general Tim Davie, who is heading the corporation until Royal Opera House chief, Lord Hall, takes over the top job next March.