Alan Yentob is expected to leave the BBC by Christmas over the growing Kids Company scandal, well-placed sources told The Times last night.
While the corporation has in public stood by its creative director, behind the scenes there is a growing acceptance that it might be better for both Yentob and the BBC if he stood down. One source said things were “moving towards a conclusion” and that it would be surprising if Yentob were still in post by the end of the year.
Yentob, 68, said last night that any suggestion that he was leaving the BBC was “ridiculous and completely untrue”.
He admitted yesterday that he had stood beside a Radio 4 producer while Camila Batmanghelidjh, the Kids Company founder, was interviewed on the Today programme in July.
Asked by MPs on the public administration select committee whether this had been an abuse of position he said “if it was intimidating, I regret it”.
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“I just thought I was there to listen to what Camila said,” he said, adding that he had turned down an invitation to appear on the programme because of concerns about a conflict of interest.
One MP involved in scrutinising Kids Company said that Yentob’s admission showed a conflict of interest and made his position at the BBC “completely untenable”. Another said that Yentob’s involvement in Kids Company threatened to blow up into a scandal that the BBC could ill afford before the renewal of its charter next year.
Yentob also admitted to MPs that he had telephoned a staff member at Newsnight — thought to have been Ian Katz, the editor — to ask him to delay by 24 hours a report about Kids Company. The programme, which revealed that the Cabinet Office was withholding a £3 million grant unless Ms Batmanghelidjh agreed to stand down, was broadcast as planned.