BBC is strong and trustworthy, says former chairman Christopher Bland

The Government is warning that the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal is raising "very real concerns" about public trust in the BBC.

The Culture Secretary Maria Miller has written to the corporation saying licence fee-payers need to be assured that its investigations into the allegations are done "openly and transparently".

Sir Christopher Bland, who was chair of the BBC's board of governors from 1996 to 2001, said trust of the BBC would not vanish overnight.