Sir Michael Lyons, the head of the BBC, told MPs yesterday that Jonathan Ross could face further punishment later this week – only to change his mind hours later. In the morning, the Chairman of the BBC Trust said that Radio 2 was wrong to say that Ross would return to his Saturday morning slot on January 24 because the trust had yet to finish its inquiry into the Andrew Sachs phone affair.

However, by the afternoon, as websites picked up on the possibility that Ross could not be sure of his job, the trust backed down and said that there was no new evidence against him.

When first asked by John Whittingdale, the chairman of the Commons’ Culture Committee, whether Radio 2 had been “somewhat premature” in telling listeners when Ross would be back, Sir Michael talked tough, saying: “Let me be clear. The BBC Trust has not finished in its deliberations. All these matters are subject to the final decision.”

That appeared to suggest the possibility of further punishment for Ross. Hours later, however, the trust issued a statement saying that it “does not expect the Director-General’s final report to provide new information of substance relating to Jonathan Ross’s role which would lead it to change its view on his part in this incident”.

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