ITV‘s evidence during a parliamentary inquiry into the Phillip Schofield scandal has been branded “inconsistent” and “contradictory,” letters reveal today.
Earlier this summer ITV boss Carolyn McCall, head of media Kevin Lygo and the network’s general counsel Kyla Mullins appeared before the committee for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) to discuss Schofield and the events that led to him resigning from the network earlier this year.
The former “This Morning” anchor was one of ITV’s best known faces until his fall from grace, triggered by an admission he had had an affair with a young member of staff on the show.
In a letter sent by the Culture Committee chair Caroline Dinenage after the inquiry, she asked McCall to clarify whether Schofield had stepped down voluntarily from the network or was pushed, describing Lygo’s responses on the point as “at best inconsistent.”
During the Q&A session at Westminster in June, Lygo initially responded to a question from Dinenage by saying it had been Schofield’s decision to quit. In her letter Dinenage pointed out that later in the session, Lygo was asked specifically about Schofield’s resignation statement, posted on his Instagram, in which he had written “ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on.” When pressed as to who made the decision for Schofield to step down, Lygo responded: “I did, I suppose, ultimately. These things are collective.”
Dinenage also said that in the months since the inquiry had taken place the Culture Committee had been contacted by “a large number of individuals” who worked on “This Morning” specifically or ITV Daytime more generally who raised “claims of toxic working cultures, bullying, discrimination and harrassment.”
She added that while McCall had claimed, during the inquiry, she was only aware of two complaints about “This Morning” in the last five years, the committee said they had been contacted by current and former staff on the show who were “personally aware of multiple cases,” contradicting her evidence.
Responding to Dinenage’s letter, McCall said there had been “no inconsistency” in Lygo’s responses. “As made clear, Mr Schofield expressed a desire to leave ‘This Morning’ but Kevin Lygo was the ultimate arbiter of such issues – following discussions with everyone involved,” McCall wrote.
The ITV CEO did not directly address Dinenage’s point about multiple complaints against “This Morning” but reiterated that the Culture Committee should direct any current or former employees who have a complaint to report their experiences via an external hotline set up to deal with internal complaints.
Following the Schofield saga ITV announced it had appointed an external lawyer to conduct a review into events and the culture more generally. In her letter McCall told the committee she expects the review to be completed by September and will share its findings when it is finalized.
For a full explanation of the Schofield saga,click here.
