It has been revealed BBC director-general Mark Thompson had to apologise to the BBC Trust for signing the open letter criticising News Corp’s bid for Sky and asking the UK government to intervene (as they now have).

The BBC Trust “expressed concern” about whether it was “appropriate” for Thompson to sign the controversial letter which was also from all News Corp’s rival newspaper groups and commercial TV stations all saying the bid’s success would reduce media plurality.

The BBC Trust decided to release part of the minutes of its 21 October meeting early and they record that Thompson “acknowledged that he had not discussed the co-signing of the letter directly with the chairman or engaged with trustees”. Thompson “stated his regret” for entering the controversy about the News Corp bid without informing the regulator first.

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