Patten resigns

[subcontrabass]

See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27300957

[Bax-of-Delights]

Chris Patten stands down from BBC Trust

News just in: Chris Patten has resigned from Chair of the BBC Trust for health reasons.

Acting Chair is Diane Coyle (but she is married to BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones so a conflict of interests arises n'est ce pas? Or is nepotism so ingrained in the BBC that this kind of thing passes without a blush of embarrassment? )

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm sorry to hear of his bad health - but is the job such hard work?

[french frank]

I'm sorry to hear of his bad health - but is the job such hard work?

I think some aspects might be quite stressful (like constantly having to face Parliamentary committees) - especially with scandals and Charter renewal - rather than putting in 60-hour weeks.

[Honoured Guest]

Patten appointed Entwistle. Good riddance!

[french frank]

Patten appointed Entwistle. Good riddance!

And Tony Hall?

[Honoured Guest]

And Tony Hall?

Yes, him too, with minimal due process. Tony Hall is competent, and the next D-G will be able to take forward or reverse his whims, but Entwistle ... !!!

[french frank]

Yes, him too, with minimal due process. Tony Hall is competent, and the next D-G will be able to take forward or reverse his whims, but Entwistle ... !!!

I'm sorry for anyone who's in poor health but I wouldn't say he had been among the best chairmen. And he'll be 70 next week, so he's not taking early retirement in the normal sense of the phrase.

[edashtav]

I'm sad for Chris Patten - his end reminds me of Enoch Powell's remark about how all political careers end. He took a dinner date and a sinecure but it turned into anything but a haven of rest. A time there was when Chris Patten was a big hitter.

[Hornspieler]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10812332/Lord-Pattens-plea-to-save-the-BBC-as-he-steps-down.html

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

just as there is no public memory of life without the NHS, of all the hidden illness that walked through the new surgery doors in years after WW2; there is no memory of life before broadcasting, nor of the BBC monopoly and fear of chaos on the airwaves followed by the excitement and stimulus of the early competition

... at least Patten had two attributes that mattered - he was a High Tory of the old school where you found money for the things that mattered unlike his boss Thatcher who sold the things that mattered for the loot ... and he was old enough to remember the original impact on our health and democracy of both institutions

and if it had been me that had his operations i would be spending a lot more time in my back yard

[amateur51]

Patten appointed Entwistle. Good riddance!

You have 20:20 vision of course

[amateur51]

With the exception of the all-knowing HG, I think most people felt that Chris Patten would be a safe pair of hands as Chairman of the BBC Trust. No-one realised at the time (pace HG of course) that those qualities would be so sorely tested and how often.He didn't know how much unfinished business was sitting at the back of the DG's safe and when it all came tumbling out he was genuinely taken aback but he knew that he had to front it up.This is why he became testy under questioning by Hodge, et al.

As a public servant he has taken on some easy jobs and some thankless ones and he has seen them through largely successfully, with this exception. Given his build and colour and his fondness for the pleasures of the plate i am not surprised that cardiovascular illness has been diagnosed. I'm sorry that he's had such a fright and I wish him well. I hope that he is able to enjoy his retirement.

[Honoured Guest]

You have 20:20 vision of course

As I don't chair the BBC Trust, that's irrelevant. As D-G, Entwistle focused on policies and ignored actual live issues, to the extent of freely admitting that he didn't listen when his senior managers reported anything to him because he might be seen to be personally interfering. He was unfortunate that his approach blew up in his face in a matter of only a few days in office, but his approach was a disaster waiting to happen in any circumstances. His interview would have revealed his manner of tackling the D-G role to the appointment panel (unless he were utterly duplicitous at interview, or the panel were utterly incompetent) and so the Chair of the BBC Trust was culpable in the Entwistle fiasco.

[amateur51]

As I don't chair the BBC Trust, that's irrelevant. As D-G, Entwistle focused on policies and ignored actual live issues, to the extent of freely admitting that he didn't listen when his senior managers reported anything to him because he might be seen to be personally interfering. He was unfortunate that his approach blew up in his face in a matter of only a few days in office, but his approach was a disaster waiting to happen in any circumstances. His interview would have revealed his manner of tackling the D-G role to the appointment panel (unless he were utterly duplicitous at interview, or the panel were utterly incompetent) and so the Chair of the BBC Trust was culpable in the Entwistle fiasco.

The harshness of your judgement, and the ease with which you express it, suggests to me that you have never held a position in which your actions and decisions will be held up to public scrutiny.

For which, much thanks.