BBC may face public inquiry over Jimmy Savile abuse scandal In an interview with The Telegraph, Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, said: "If the investigations are considered not to suffice because of issues around transparency, process or other such things, then a public inquiry remains an option." The BBC has launched two inquiries - one into why a Newsnight investigation into Savile was abandoned, and another into the culture and practices at the corporation. However, it has not committed to publish all of the evidence. Mrs Miller has already crossed swords with Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, writing to say it was vital that the inquiries are "able to follow the evidence wherever it takes them." Lord Patten replied tersely: "I know that you will not want to give any impression that you are questioning the independence of the BBC." Today Mrs Miller refuses to back down. "The real challenge for the BBC is to make sure that the outcome of these reviews really gets to the bottom of these accusations," she says. She stresses that it is "particularly" important that the BBC publishes all evidence to the investigations, which so far it has refused to do. "We haven't ruled out a public inquiry," she says pointedly. At this point we want the criminal investigations by the police to be able to proceed as swiftly as possible. We also want the BBC to consider these matters in detail for themselves and hold their inquiries. If the investigations are considered not to suffice because of issues around transparency, process or other such things, then a public inquiry remains an option on the table. Mrs Miller also clashed with colleagues over regulation of the newspaper industry. "Nothing is off the table, including statutory regulation," she said.