The BBC called on its staff last night to inform their managers about programmes that have misled or deceived the public.

The initiative to shore up trust in the corporation came after it was forced to apologise to the Queen — the second embarassing apology within four days.

Mark Thompson, the BBC Director-General, has been asked by the BBC Trust to explain why a channel controller issued promotional footage that wrongly implied that the Queen had walked out of a photo shoot.

It admitted that footage which purported to show the Queen storming out of a sitting with the celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz had been spliced together out of sequence. In fact the Queen was filmed walking into the shoot.

The position of Peter Fincham, the BBC One Controller, was under threat. He admitted that he had released the footage to the media in order to promote a documentary about the Queen, but said that he had no prior knowlege of the manipulation. Mr Fincham told the media that viewers would see the Queen “walking out in a huff”.

But last night, the corporation said that the raw footage, repeated yesterday on BBC news bulletins, should never have been screened in the first place.

The scandal erupted days after the BBC was hit with a £50,000 fine after admitting that it faked the winner of a Blue Peter phone-in quiz. Senior executives sent a memo to staff yesterday urgently seeking any evidence of other BBC programmes where audiences may have been misled. The memo, signed by Jana Bennett, the corporation’s head of television, said in her memo: “It is crucial if there have been any other instances in which audiences have been misled that I find out about them now.”

It added: “The principal mistake on Blue Peter was the deception of its audience. This issue is clearly not exclusively related to the use of premium-rate telephony. However, it is central to maintaining audience trust in the BBC.” The Palace was said to be “dismayed” over the affair, which made headlines around the world.

Sources said that the Palace felt let down after giving the film crew “unprecedented access” to the Royal Family for a whole year.

The BBC Trust is currently investigating Panorama amid claims that episodes in its new prime-time slot, such as a Scientology exposé, have substituted sensationalism for rigorous journalism.

Last night, RDF Media, which earned the trust of the Royal Family after producing a behind-the-scenes BBC One series about Windsor Castle, took the blame for the episode.

It said that the extracts shown were from “an early assembly of the footage”.

A spokesman said: “This assembly was never intended to be seen by the public or the press. Unfortunately, this was given in error to the BBC personnel who were preparing the autumn launch tape.”

The corporation said that the clips “were not intended to provide a full picture of what actually happened or of what will be shown in the final programme”.

A spokesman said: “In this trailer there is a sequence that implies that the Queen left a sitting prematurely. This was not the case, and the actual sequence of events was misrepresented.”

Both the BBC and RDF Media sent full apologies to the Palace and to Leibovitz.

In the footage, the Queen walks into a room in Buckingham Palace, cluttered with camera equipment, wearing her crown and her Order of the Garter robes.

Leibovitz tells her: “I think it will look better without the crown because the Garter robe is so . . .” But before the photographer can finish saying “extraordinary”, the Queen gives her an icy stare and replies: “Less dressy? What do you think this is?”

The next sequence shows the Queen walking down a corridor, saying to a lady-in-waiting: “I’m not changing anything. I’ve had enough dressing like this, thank you very much.”

This sequence actually preceded her arrival at the shoot.

BBC memo to senior staff

“As we have made clear, the principle [sic] mistake on Blue Peter was the deception of its audience. This issue is clearly not exclusively related to the use of premium-rate telephony. However it is central to maintaining audience trust in the BBC. “Therefore as a matter of top priority I would now like to ask you to consult both your records and your colleagues to identify any further programmes where you feel there may be a risk that in some way audiences could have been misled. “Please could you let me, your senior line manager, or if you prefer David Jordan (controller editorial policy) have details — however sketchy — of any programme broadcast since January 2005 about which you have any concerns in this context. “It is crucial if there have been other instances in which audiences have been misled that I find out about them now.”
Jana Bennett, Director of Vision, Mark Byford, deputy director-general, Helen Boaden, Director of News

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