Former BBC director-general Mark Thompson set to take over at New York Times The New York Times maintained its confidence in the paper's new chief following the news that George Entwistle, the director-general of the BBC, said he was resigning from the broadcaster on Saturday. The latest embarrassment comes as the BBC faces multiple investigations into claims that hundreds of people, some as young as 12, were sexually abused over the course of decades by the late comedian Jimmy Savile. Mr Thompson said he did not know about the nature of the investigation by Newsnight into Savile, and had no involvement in the decision to axe the report. He later said he had a "chance meeting" with a journalist who mentioned the Newsnight investigation into Savile, but said he had not been told any of the details or the scale of the problem. Mr Entwistle's departure and his acceptance of responsibility for editorial decisions as director-general adds pressure to any evaluation of Mr Thompson's role at the BBC, and whether he was ultimately accountable for the shelving of the Savile report. Mr Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Mr Entwistle's resignation. He declined a request from Reuters to be interviewed about his plans for the New York Times.