Decision must have been made to 'restore trust'

The director general of the BBC, George Entwistle, has resigned over his handling of a report by the BBC's Newsnight programme which wrongly accused a former British politician of child sex abuse.

Mr Entwistle had only taken on the post in September.

The BBC and the programme were already under intense scrutiny for the handling of an investigation into child abuse by a former BBC star, Jimmy Savile.

Mark Easton said the BBC had been put in a "dangerous position", but the decision must have been made "to restore trust".