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Lord McApline (file photo) Andrew Stuart/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Investigation

Ofcom launches investigation into both the BBC and ITV

The news comes as Lord McAlpine, who had been wrongly identified as being part of a paedophile ring, is expected to reach a settlement with the BBC.

OFCOM, THE INDEPENDENT regulator of the communication industry in the UK, has today announced that it is set to launch an investigation into both the BBC and ITV.

A spokesperson told the TheJournal.ie that it has launched “two new broadcast investigations,” identifying them as follows:

The first relates to a Newsnight report broadcast on 2 November into child sex abuse allegations. The second relates to the disclosure of a list of individuals alleged to be linked to child sex abuse on ITV’s This Morning, broadcast on 8 November.

It was the 2 November broadcast of Newsnight that led to Lord McApline being mistakenly identified as a member of a paedophile ring.

Despite not being named during the broadcast, he was subsequently identified online.

It is believed that McApline is set to reach a financial settlement with the BBC as a result of the accusation.

On the This Morning programme on 8 November, presenter Philip Schofield handed British Prime Minister a list of what he alleged to be Tory child abusers when live on air.

(Engin ÖZER/YouTube)

The Guardian are reporting that Schofield, along with three staff members, have been reprimanded by ITV over the incident.

The Ofcom spokesperson said that both programmes had raised issues relating to the “application of generally accepted standards by ITV and the BBC,” along with the “application of standards to prevent unfair treatment to an individual, and unwarranted infringements of privacy.”

Read: BBC in apology over Newsnight child abuse report >

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