Just what do the BBC executives intend to do?

The BBC’s response to the Brand-Ross row has been pathetic. It’s now been rumbling for around 48 hours yet by late afternoon Tuesday not a single BBC executive has raised his or her head above the parapet. But the quangocracy has trundled into action. The BBC Trust says it wants an explanation while Ofcom has started an investigation. The quangos would be unnecessary if BBC management did its job.

First, a senior executive, preferably the director-general himself, Mark Thompson, should apologise to Andrew Sachs, the 76-year-old actor on whose answering machine Brand-Ross left their offensive remarks (also broadcast to 2m people); he should also apologise to license-payers for a lamentable lapse in standards.

Then Brand and Ross should be called into the DG’s office to be severely reprimanded and punished by being suspended for at least a month without pay. If they refuse to make an abject public apology or convince the DG that they truly recognise that they’ve behaved disgracefully, then both should be summarily fired.