London: The BBC reached a settlement on Thursday with the Conservative politician wrongly implicated in a child sex abuse scandal. The BBC has already apologised for linking 70-year-old Alistair McAlpine, a member of the House of Lords, to child sex abuse that happened decades ago in Wales. The mistaken report, broadcast nearly two weeks ago, has caused turmoil within BBC management ranks and led to the resignation of its chief.
The British broadcaster said on late Thursday it had resolved McAlpine's libel claim, calling it a "comprehensive" settlement that "reflects the gravity of the allegations that were wrongly made." The politician will receive 185,000 pounds ($293,200) in damages and the terms of the agreement will be announced in court in a few days, his lawyers told Britain's Press Association.
McAlpine said in a statement he was delighted to have reached a "quick and early" settlement and now will seek settlements from people who had named him on Twitter. Earlier, he told BBC radio he had been shocked by the report, which did not directly name him but led to Internet chatter about his purported role. He said the BBC had not contacted him to try to verify the report before it was televised on its "Newsnight" program.
"They should have called me and I would have told them exactly what they learned later on - that it was complete rubbish," he said. He expressed sympathy for the sex abuse victim who had mistakenly told BBC that McAlpine
09:06 AM, Nov 16, 2012
London: The beleaguered BBC is asking its staff to tone down the tweets. Britain's national broadcaster is in crisis over its bungled reporting of a child sex-abuse scandal. Its top executive has resigned, two more have temporarily stepped down and others are facing disciplinary proceedings. Unsurprisingly, some of the BBC's 20,000 staff, including well-known personalities, have taken to social media to discuss its woes. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on...
07:40 AM, Nov 14, 2012
London: BBC on Saturday apologised for airing a report that led to a former Tory politician being wrongly implicated in child sex abuse, and admitted it was facing a "crisis of trust". A BBC report in which an abuse victim accused an ex-Tory leader of sex abuse should not have been broadcast, BBC director general George Entwistle said on Saturday. He apologised unreservedly to Lord McAlpine after the report led...
10:34 PM, Nov 10, 2012
New Delhi: Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to protect children below 18 from sexual abuse, set up special courts for speedy trial of cases against them and provide stringent punishment extending up to life term for offenders. "The bill is gender neutral. It seeks to protect children from sexual offences...the burden of proof will be on the accused," Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said winding up the...
07:25 PM, May 22, 2012
New Delhi: Whom does a child turn to when the one he trusts with all of his tiny heart turns abuser? In a nut-shell, the second episode of Aamir Khan's television show Satyamev Jayate was simply heart-breaking. It brought out a common but rarely talked-about scourge of society - the sexual abuse of children - often by people they trust the most. Aamir spoke to several such victims, their family...
01:46 PM, May 13, 2012
Under Italian law, the penalty for sexual violence against a child under the age of 14 ranges from six to 12 years ...
11:49 AM, Apr 17, 2010
A look at what the myths are about child abuse and what the facts are. ...
10:38 PM, Nov 18, 2009
One of the first such cases was exposed in Goa sixteen years ago. ...
09:59 PM, Nov 18, 2009
