BBC news chief, deputy have "stepped aside" while sex-abuse scandal is examined In a statement on Monday, the BBC said neither Boaden nor Mitchell "had anything at all to do" with the problematic investigation that wrongly accused the politician. Still, the broadcaster said, the news executives are "not in a position" to oversee news coverage until a probe of the errant report is complete. "Consideration is now being given to the extent to which individuals should be asked to account further for their actions," the statement said. And if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken. Trustees of the global broadcaster have begun a desperate search for a new director general after George Entwistle, 50, quit after he conceded he did not know about the serious allegations that implicated the politician before the episode was broadcast. With the BBC facing its deepest crisis in years, government officials have called on the organization to find a way to regain the public's confidence. Speaking on BBC on Sunday, Theresa May, Britain's home secretary, said that the corporation needed to restore "trust and credibility" to rebuild itself as a "renowned national institution" and a "worldwide brand." Patten said that the broadcaster hoped to have someone new at the helm of the BBC within weeks. Patten also suggested the BBC, an organization with 22,000 employees that is one of the world's largest broadcasters, needed a "thorough, structural, radical overhaul." "Newsnight" became embroiled in a new controversy after it aired an interview on Nov. 2 with Steve Messham, who asserted that he was sexually abused at a care home in North Wales. Although "Newsnight" did not name the alleged abuser, it described him as a prominent figure in Margaret Thatcher's government. The mounting criticism leveled against the BBC comes at a time of deep uncertainty for the British press as it nervously awaits a report by Brian Leveson, a judge who led an inquiry into press standards following the phone-hacking scandal last year that rocked the British establishment. Leveson's report, expected later this month, could have a profound impact on how the print press is regulated.