The Mark Thompson storm is entering its second week — with no sign of it letting up.
The incoming New York Times CEO faces a fresh report that his former office of the BBC director-general and editor-in-chief had been formally briefed twice on explosive sex abuse allegations that are now rocking the UK public broadcaster.
Former aides to Thompson — who left the BBC last month to take the helm of the Times on Nov. 12 — were alerted on two occasions about charges of child sex abuse against Jimmy Savile, a TV show personality at the BBC, according to London’s Sunday Times, citing sources.
Times Chairman Arthur “Pinch” Sulzberger last week told employees that Thompson “played no role” in the cancellation of a news segment that would have aired the allegations.
Thompson has said he was “neither notified nor briefed” about the subject matter of a spiked news segment on the BBC program “Newsnight.” He later amended his language, saying he wasn’t “formally notified.”
The paper’s public editor, Margaret Sullivan, wrote in a blog post last week that “[his] integrity and decision-making are bound to affect The Times and its journalism — profoundly. It’s worth considering now whether he is the right person for the job, given this turn of events.”
In recent weeks, more than 300 alleged victims have come forward.
According to the Sunday Times, which is also owned by The Post’s parent company News Corp., Thompson’s office had received formal queries about the sex allegations from two different journalists in May and September.
A spokesman for the CEO-to-be denied that Thompson was briefed on the claims.