Trust: Sachs calls a "deplorable intrusion"

The BBC Trust has described Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross's controversial phone calls to Andrew Sachs as a "deplorable intrusion".

The BBC received a total of 42,851 complaints - including one on behalf of Sachs from his agent - over the incident, in which Brand and Ross left a series of lewd messages on the Fawlty Towers actor's answerphone. In one, Ross informed Sachs that Brand had "f***ed" his granddaughter Georgina Baillie, a dancer with burlesque troupe the Satanic Sluts.

The Editorial Standards Committee (ESC), which is responsible for securing editorial standards at the Corporation, said that the calls, recorded for an edition of The Russell Brand Show that aired on October 18, were "so grossly offensive that there was no justification for [their] broadcast".

It added that the incident represented an "unacceptable and deplorable intrusion into the private lives" of Sachs and Baillie.

The ESC concluded its investigation into the incident by identifying three failures of BBC management.

It said that Radio 2 had failed to assert editorial control in broadcasting the calls, that the BBC's compliance systems had not been correctly followed and that there had been a "failure in editorial judgement" in allowing the calls to take place.

The ESC found that there had been a breach of the BBC Editorial Guidelines regarding privacy with respect to Sachs and Baillie in the show, and also in a later edition of The Chris Moyles Show in which Brand talked about his encounter with Baillie.

The ESC also criticised Lesley Douglas, who quit her role as controller of Radio 2 over the incident, accusing her of making a "serious misjudgement" in authorising broadcast of the calls.

Brand also quit Radio 2 following the furore, while Ross was handed a 12-week suspension without pay for his part in proceedings. Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, said today that he supported the suspension but added that no further action would be taken against Ross.

The BBC has since compiled a detailed register of all programmes designated "high risk" and plans to monitor them closely. It is also reviewing its compliance procedure and hiring a manager to oversee editorial standards at BBC Audio & Music.