Public trust in the BBC has taken a knock as the fallout from the BBCs calamitous decision to air unsubstantiated allegations against Lord McAlpine continue to reverberate, according to new polling data.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the Daily Telegraph, found more than half (53%) now trust the BBC less than they did prior to the whole affair with a paltry 3% stating that their opinion had improved.
A key contributor to public dissatisfaction has been the £450k pay-off awarded to George Entwistle, the BBCs director general who was forced to depart after less than eight weeks in the job after failing to get a grip on his organisation.
A whopping 82% of those polled agreed that this sum was too much, with just 9% believing it to be acceptable.
This is most pronounced amongst the over 65’s with 58% of this demographic stating that they had lost faith in the broadcaster and 90% opposing Entwistle’s pay-off.
The BBC has already been forced to shell out £185k in damages to McAlpine but it is the decline in trust that is likely to be the most damaging legacy of the whole affair.