Former BBC Director-General Mark Thompson is set to start his new job as CEO of the New York Times next month, but his first few days might be a little awkward if a scandal dominating British headlines makes its way across the pond: This Friday, Scotland Yard formally initiated a criminal investigation into allegations of sex abuse by the late (and very popular) BBC host Jimmy Savile, who may have molested as many as 200 young boys and girls. Tuesday, current BBC Director-General George Entwistle will testify about the matter in front of Parliament. Entwistle is likely in for a hard grilling, as a report from the Independent indicates that he and other BBC executives canceled a documentary on Savile in favor of a more positive retrospective show. While there’s no explicit mention of Thompson in these recent news reports, the New York Post points out that he was in charge at the time and had said the investigation was scrapped for ‘editorial reasons.’ If that doesn’t turn out to be the case, Thompson will have to answer some tough questions of his own.
