BBC review finds ‘no toxic culture' but ‘minority who behave unacceptably'
The review, from Change Associates and led by management consultant Grahame Russell, was launched in the wake of the furore over disgraced former newsreader Huw Edwards.
The report said: 'They are often in positions where power could be abused.
'Even though they are small in number, their behaviour creates large ripples which negatively impact the BBC's culture and external reputation.'
Edwards faced allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit images in 2023 and there was further scandal in 2024 when he was handed a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to three charges of 'making' indecent photographs of children.
The report said the BBC needs to set 'clear expectations around behaviours' as it should be the 'gold standard for the industry'.
'Some of those who exhibit unacceptable behaviour continue to thrive, and in some cases are promoted, whilst live investigations are ongoing, or grievances against them are upheld,' it said.
The corporation was informed that Edwards had been arrested in November 2023 but continued to employ the veteran broadcaster until April 2024, when he resigned on medical advice.
A statement from the corporation last year said if Edwards had 'been up front when asked by the BBC about his arrest, we would never have continued to pay him public money' and added he had 'undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute'.
The review was announced in 2024 after several controversies involving high-profile presenters rocked the corporation, including the sacking of Jermaine Jenas from The One Show after he admitted to sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues.
'Most people who are on-air/on-screen are seen as good to work with and respectful,' the report said, but added: 'As expected, we also heard of examples of well-known names not being held to account for poor behaviour.'
Further to the recommendations, the BBC has launched a refreshed code of conduct, with specific guidance for on-air presenters, and started the rollout of a new Call It Out campaign, where staff can challenge poor conduct.
The BBC will also launch a resolving concerns helpline, introduce in-person inductions for all new joiners and conduct regular, targeted culture checks.
BBC chairman Samir Shah said his first year in the position at the corporation had shown him a 'different side' and one he 'wasn't expecting', as he addressed a staff event at London's Broadcasting House as the review into workplace culture was published.
He said: 'There is a minority of people whose behaviour is simply not acceptable.
'And there are still places where powerful individuals – on and off screen – can abuse that power to make life for their colleagues unbearable.
'The report makes several recommendations that prioritise action over procedural change – and that is exactly right.
'It also addresses some deep-seated issues: for example, the need to make sure everyone can feel confident and not cowed about speaking up.'
The report said there was evidence that both Jewish and Muslim staff members and freelancers are in fear 'of speaking up, raising issues and being themselves at work'.
'Given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, this has been exacerbated, as they feel concerns have not been heard or acted on,' it said.
BBC director-general Tim Davie said: 'This report represents an important moment for the BBC and the wider industry.
'It provides clear, practical recommendations that we are committed to implementing at pace.
'I'm grateful to everyone who took part and contributed.'
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the Government considers it 'a moral imperative' that the BBC implement a plan of action 'without delay'.
'There is no place for abuse or harassment in any workplace, and BBC staff alongside the public rightly expect the very highest standards from their national broadcaster,' she said.
Philippa Childs, the head of broadcasting union Bectu, said she welcomed the BBC Board's acceptance of the recommendations and said that 'repeated and historical scandals involving senior talent at the BBC exposed an organisation in need of a full rethink of its culture'.
She added that Bectu's research from May last year showed that 'high-profile cases have done little to shift the dial on the industry's bullying and harassment problem'.
The review heard from around 2,500 employees and freelancers, with representations from across the UK and 19 different countries around the world.
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Scottish Sun
27 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control
Ben's mum was lured into the cult and gave her son up to be part of a 'master race' CULT OF BLONDE My mum abandoned me and gave me to a cult – we were fed LSD, beaten, bleached & waterboarded to keep us under control BEN Shenton was just 18 months old when his mother gave him up to a well-spoken blonde woman who swore she'd give him the best life possible. Little did she know her decision would put Ben through years of abuse at the hands of a woman who believed she was Jesus Christ reborn. 9 Ben Shenton was handed over to a cult leader Credit: BBC 9 Anne Hamilton-Bryne's 'children' were forced to bleach their hair and wear matching clothes Credit: BBC Handout 9 Anne believed she was Jesus Christ reborn and became the leader of the notorious Australian cult Images of Ben show a happy young boy, but the reality was entirely different - as the youngster was forced to become part of a notorious cult known as 'The Family'. Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who Ben would grow up to know as his mother, became the leader of the cult based in Australia, which drugged and beat him. He had no idea of his life before Anne, as she went to great lengths to keep his adoption a secret, even bleaching his hair platinum blond like hers and his new 'siblings'. Despite abusing more than 20 children, including Ben, Anne and her husband and cult co-leader, Bill Hamilton-Byrne, never faced justice. Now, over four decades on from the abuse, Ben shares his story of growing up in the "Kai Lama" compound, where children were locked in with barbed wire and tortured. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Anne first started out as a yoga teacher before turning to a more 'spiritual life' and eventually believing she was Jesus Christ reincarnated. She was born with the name Evelyn and had three marriages in total - the first coming to an end when her husband died in a car crash, which led to her 'spiritual awakening.' She met English physicist Dr Raynor Johnson in 1963 and the following year, they set up a group dedicated to spreading a surreal combination of Christianity and Hinduism, with Hamilton-Byrne at its centre. Her final husband, Bill, became the person who led the doomsday cult with her in the 1960s, when the world faced existential threats like nuclear warfare, the Vietnam War and the spread of communism. Anne was able to rope people into the cult through yoga lessons, meetings at her house once a week, and then three times a week, until she built the compound on land near her house for them to move into. Inside a 'mind-controlling' CULT which 'forced mum and daughter to hit each other' and chose Fiji as the 'promised land' Anne came across as beautiful, well-spoken and nurturing, so it's no surprise Ben's mum was easily convinced he'd have a better life with her. Ben said Anne manipulated his mother into giving him up in 1970, convincing her that 'only she could give me the best life possible'. The pair consistently preyed on vulnerable people like Ben's mum, Joy, who had suffered a back injury and felt she could not look after him anymore. They also started recruiting people into their cult by approaching patients from Newhaven Hospital in Kew, a private psychiatric facility run and operated by various members of The Family, who targeted vulnerable patients, subjecting them to heavy doses of LSD and electroshock therapy. She and husband Hamilton-Byrne took children through illegal adoptions, allowing the cult to grow in numbers before imprisoning them in a strict home-schooling environment at a rural property near Eildon in Victoria. 9 At one point, Anne had 28 children in her care Credit: Label Distribution 9 She convinced parents to give her their children Using lawyers, social workers, and doctors to forgo official channels, they were able to forge birth documents and raise over a dozen children to believe they were the birth children of the Hamilton-Byrnes. When children were born inside the compound to cult members, they were raised to believe their birth mothers were instead among a handful of 'aunts', who gave out brutal punishments for whatever they saw fit. PICTURE PERFECT FAMILY From the outside, the family looked picture-perfect as they lived on their compound in Victoria, Australia. Life at Kai Lama seemed healthy and even advanced for its years; it featured yoga, exercise, vegetarian meals, meditation and education. Ben lived on the remote property and was raised alongside dozens of other children for 13 years and recalls living with 28 other kids at one point. "Growing up, it was Anne and Bill, they were mum and dad; and then there were foster kids, and they were kids of other sect members, who would either come up on weekends or stay there for stints of a couple of years," Ben, told the BBC. "The greatest amount of kids at any given stage was 28," he added. Anne and Bill brought up the children as their own, even dressing them in matching outfits and dying their hair bleach blond to appear like a real family. I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. Anne Hamilton-Byrne "We were her children. We were different ages. We'd line up von Trapp style (like) The Sound of Music, which we'd watch, dressed in outfits that matched and that was just what we were asked to do," he told the True Crimes Conversation podcast. "You look back on that and you see it's choreographed. "It crafted a belief that she had these children, which she didn't. We were all either adopted or handed over." In an interview years after the children were finally taken from her, Anne said: 'I wanted them to look like brothers and sisters - I must admit this. 'I loved them in their little smocks and jeans and the long hair and ribbons. It was beautiful - it was lovely to see.' Asked why she imprisoned 28 children over two decades, she responded: 'I love children.' 9 Ben Shenton pictured after being removed from the cult Credit: Ben Shenton 9 Ben (pictured front right) and his 'silbings' were the targets of abuse for years Credit: BBC UNDER WRAPS But in reality, the children were subjected to years of beatings, mind games, isolation, and forced to take drugs by the cult leader, who had convinced more than 500 people she was Jesus Christ. The couple had convinced their followers they were making a 'master race' while teaching a mixture of Christianity and Hinduism. Ben recalls one form of torture Anne liked to perform on the children was waterboarding. It's a method of torture that creates such horrific psychological pain that its use has even been banned in the US military. "We were all lined up. We were belted. Our head held under the bucket of water, interrogated," he said. "Held there until you thought you were suffocating, brought back out again. "Horrendous experience. It caused nightmares. "These things shape your personality." Ben recalls seeing his siblings being beaten with a belt, and says they were given LSD 'as part of an initiation ritual.' 'I was watching her being belted with a buckle and she's being beaten to the point where she's wriggling out of her clothes,' he said of his sister, Sarah. 'Hearing her body smash across the balustrades - it was horrendous to know they had the power to do that and would do it,' he told the MailOnline. She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative. Ben Shenton Ben says Anne's most effective tactic was to keep the children from forming bonds with each other to keep them all in line. To weed out misdeeds in the children, Anne would perform group interrogations by beating them until someone came clean. Ben said he stayed compliant to avoid punishment. "This was the evil genius of her. She understood that if she could separate us, isolate us, make it so that we couldn't build relationships with one another and punish us, then she could control us," he said. "Anyone who's lived under domestic violence will know the living with fear, the walking on eggshells, the currying favour of those in authority, or the absolute rejection of them, the hatred of them, the love-hate relationship. "It's domestic abuse on steroids," he said. Now, Ben believes Anne was a sociopath or psychopath. "She had this ability to be able to be so warm, so loving, so caring, and yet at the same time so manipulative," he said. 'The Family' Cult Timeline 1968 The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. The Family begins to 'adopt' and acquire children to create a 'master race'. 1974 An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. An official school is set up for the 'master race' children at the Lake Eildon property. 1978 Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. Anne Hamilton marries William (Bill) Byrne and they take the surname Hamilton-Byrne. 1983 Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. Police visit the Lake Eildon property to search for a missing girl. She is not found on the property. 1987 (14 August) Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. Combined police raid on sect property at Lake Eildon. Anne is overseas. Bill is present at the raid but is not charged. The children are removed from the sect and placed into care. 1987 (Oct/Nov) Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. Bill flees to Hawaii to meet Anne. 1987 (12 December) Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. Detective Lex de Man is called to investigate. He learns about The Family. 1989 (about June) Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. Lex de Man writes a report recommending Victoria Police commence a criminal investigation into The Family. 1989 (11 December) Operation Forest Task Force commences. Operation Forest Task Force commences. 1993 (4 June) Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. Anne and Bill are arrested in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. 1993 (17 August) Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. Anne and Bill are extradited to Australia. 1993 (31 August) Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. Anne and Bill appear in the Victorian Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud and commit perjury by falsely registering the births of triplets. 1994 In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. In the County Court, Anne and Bill avoid prison and are fined $5000 each. 2001 Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. Bill dies, leaving Anne to lead a diminishing group of followers. 2019 At 97, Anne lives in the dementia wing of a suburban Melbourne nursing home. CAUGHT IN THE ACT It wasn't until 1987 that the cult was finally searched by 100 police officers and the children were rescued. At the time, a 15-year-old Ben was doing his scheduled yoga class when police stormed in. His sister, Sarah Moore, had managed to escape the cult at 17 and headed straight to the police to tell them what was going on. Not taking any chances, police stormed the property and rescued six children, including Ben. While he was reluctant to go with them at first, he soon realised this was his path to freedom. He recalls: 'I think I got this epiphanal moment, realising this is the ticket out of here. So I just I let go, and I went with them." It was only then that Ben found out he was not their biological son and was handed over by his mother Joy, who stayed in the cult as an 'aunt'. At the time, Anne was in Hawaii while Bill stayed on the compound, but he wasn't arrested. Later, he went to New York to meet Anne before the pair were arrested and extradited back to Australia. While many of the children came forward with claims of abuse, both Anne and Bill were only charged with conspiracy to defraud and perjury by falsely registering the birth of triplets. The pair were spared jail and fined just £2,300 each for the crime. Detective Lex de Man, who investigated the case, says evidence of abuse was unable to be taken to court despite multiple victims coming forward. Justice was not done. Ben Shenton Detective de Man recently told The Age: 'My only regret is she was never held totally to account for the misery she caused to the former cult children. 'I have no sympathy for the woman I consider the most evil person I ever met in my police career.' LIFE NOW Ben moved into foster care when he left the cult, and while lying on his bunk bed with fresh pyjamas and a meal in his tummy, he realised he'd never go back to The Family again "I realised then I (didn't) have to do this anymore, I'm free. I don't need to go back," he said. "That, to me, was when I shut the door." Four decades on, Ben is a proud husband to Rajes and a dad to Ellie and Callum, who live in Perth, Australia. He has written a book on his time in the cult, Life Behind the Wire, and runs the organisation, Rescue The Family, to raise awareness on cult manipulation. In 2019, Anne passed away while in a Melbourne care home at the age of 98 and Ben has reconnected with his biological mother. "What Anne did was evil. She used the name of Christ to give herself validity. She used a belief system," Ben said. "Justice was not done." 9 Now Ben educates others on manipulation after his own experience Credit: SBS Productions
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Concerns as park left 'churned up' after BBC Radio 1 event
Part of a city park has been left damaged, with grass and paths "churned up by vehicles" after a music event was held there, a local councillor has Park in Liverpool hosted the three-day BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend over the May Bank Holiday days on from the event, local people have been sharing photographs online of the damage to grass and City Council said "the damage was not extensive" but the BBC was responsible for any repairs. BBC Radio 1 has been contacted for comment. Opposition councillor Liberal Democrat Richard Kemp said he was concerned about the scale of the damage."I'm concerned about the grass and any gouging effects and trees pushed back or damaged during the installation of security fencing," he said. Mr Kemp, a councillor for nearby Penny Lane, added he had requested a report from the council to look at the impact to the local area and the environment.A city council representative said site walks had already taken place and a plan was "currently being pulled together which will provide a timescale for the repairs". "The damage is not extensive and the reinstatement work will be carried out by Liverpool Street Scene Ltd," it added. In 2024 the city became the world's first Accelerator City for climate action, under UN Climate Change's Entertainment and Culture for Climate Action city council representative said the authority had worked with external specialists to monitor the impact of the Big Weekend event, which included the "impact on the environment and sustainability" and would share those finding once a report has been written "in the coming months". Regular Sefton Park user Adam said he thought he damage was "minimal" and said it was "no worse than on a campsite where tents have been".A local resident, who did not want to be named, said she thought the grass had been protected "really well" and the event had been well organised."There was hardly any traffic disruption and not much noise," she said."The streets were fairly clean after, much cleaner than after a lot of other events. I thought it was really good for the city." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Lizzie Cundy stuns in busty black swimsuit as she teases mystery project with sizzling snap
The TV personality hinted in her caption that she has another show in the works hot stuff Lizzie Cundy stuns in busty black swimsuit as she teases mystery project with sizzling snap Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LIZZIE Cundy stunned in a busty black swimsuit as she teased her latest mystery project with a sizzling snap. Socialite Lizzie, 56, looked incredible in the plunging one-piece as she posed in a photo studio atop a stall. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 5 Lizzie Cundy stunned in a busty black swimsuit as she teased her latest mystery project Credit: Instagram 5 She regularly posts racy snaps to Instagram Credit: Instagram She wore her brunette locks in bouncing waves and accessorised with a pair of necklaces and black heels. The TV personality, who only recently starred in the BBC documentary, Sex After Celebrity, hinted in her caption that she has another show in the works. She wrote on Instagram: "Never put anyone up on a pedestal… only yourself [heart emoji] #realitycheck #photoshoot #new #documentary." Just last week, Lizzie opened up about her vibrant love life in the BBC programme. The star revealed she's currently juggling several secret romances and has no intention of settling down with just one man anymore. Lizzie, who was married to footballer Jason Cundy, 55, until 2012, spoke candidly in the doc. She said: 'Dating is great now. I am loving dating. I do a long-distance relationship, which is fantastic.' Lizzie went on to spill the sexy secrets of juggling multiple men, sending 'little naughty pics' to keep the flames burning. She teased: 'So, you know, you can send little naughty pics and you just keep it fresh. They're not there all the time, getting on your nerves.' Lizzie admitted she's now enjoying the best of all worlds with a number of companions who each bring something different to her life. TV star, 56, says she's dating string of secret hunks and ending 'one guy' romances after Carol Vorderman sex confession She said: 'You know, guys are good for different things. I used to have one guy and I'd think, 'Oh, if only he was a little bit more fun and wanted to go out at night.' 'So I've got guys, you know, one likes football, one likes going out for dinner, one makes me laugh, one's good in bed, you know. Got it all! "I'm free, I love it, and I've never been happier.' Earlier in the show, Lizzie recalled a horrific ordeal when an ex attempted to film a sex tape without her consent. She said: "I'm more aware, now I'm a celebrity, of how I am, I suppose, in bed. 'I remember dating a guy and he kept using his phone. I was like, 'What are you doing?' And then I thought, 'He's filming me. He's going to make a sex tape!' "And I'm more wary and watching, rather than more relaxed. But I'm a free girl." During a discussion with glamour model Danielle Lloyd and former politician Lembit Opik, she explained being forced to shut down a similar attempt on a date. Lizzie said: 'I've actually been on a date where, sitting there, and I've seen him push his phone. "And I've thought, 'I think he's recording me.' So I just said, 'Yeah, is your phone on? Are you recording?' "And he just went, 'Yeah.'" 5 Lizzie recently said she's currently juggling several secret romances Credit: BBC 5 She starred in Sex After Celebrity with Danielle Lloyd and Lembit Opik Credit: BBC
