ITV and This Morning is in a fresh scandal following more allegations of “bullying” and having a “toxic working culture”.
According to the House of Commons media committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage, current and past employees have made accusations of harassment, bullying and discrimination.
This report comes after ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall was questioned about Phillip Schofield‘s This Morning departure and ITV’s work culture. Furthermore, back in May, Phillip stepped down as a presenter and admitted to having an affair with a younger male colleague.
Despite accusations from people, including Dr Ranj Singh, Dame Carolyn stated that she did “not recognise” a toxic culture in This Morning.
This Morning in fresh scandal
However, in a letter published today (August 9), Dame Caroline addressed Dame Carolyn and said that many individuals had contacted the committee after her parliament appearance.
She wrote: “These individuals speak with great pride about working at ITV and are hugely positive about many of their colleagues. However, they also raise claims of toxic working cultures, bullying, discrimination and harassment.”
She added: “[Some] have described how their decision to raise concerns within ITV has led to further bullying and discrimination. And in some cases having to leave the organisation with a settlement agreement.
“It is easy to understand why those individuals, especially where they have left ITV and do not wish to relive their traumatic experiences, do not feel capable of attempting to report their concerns, or that ITV will take them seriously.”
In a response to the letter, Dame Carolyn wrote: “I received your letter by email this afternoon and thank you for returning my call so quickly. As I said, we were surprised your letter was to be published given our own concerns about the welfare of our staff. We have of course cooperated in every way and been clear that complaints are taken seriously.
“Your letter asks for clarification around some issues covered by the Select Committee hearing we attended
last month which, of course, we are very happy to do. To your first point on Mr Schofield’s departure from This Morning, there is no inconsistency.
“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.
ITV statement
“On the subject of NDAs, we were very clear that we only enter into such agreements in relation to commercial matters. To the extent anyone wants confirmation that confidentiality provisions in any settlement agreement do not apply to appropriate disclosures, then they should approach us and we would be happy to review the position. To date, no one has approached us.
“You also say that others have come forward to you about their experience at ITV. But do not feel capable of attempting to report their concerns, or that ITV will take them seriously. Having taken the step to bring
matters to your attention, in line with my letter to you the day after the hearing, I would ask you to continue to encourage individuals to contact ITV via our reporting line SafeCall, through which reports can be made confidentially or anonymously.
“Alternatively, individuals may wish to contact Jane Mulcahy KC directly. As we made clear to you and the Committee, we are absolutely committed to enabling people to raise any issues or complaints they may have about working at ITV. We always take these seriously and will investigate and take whatever action is appropriate. However, we are unable to do so if we cannot engage with those people.
“As we committed to you at the Select Committee hearing, we will respond to you with the findings of the KC review which has started and which we expect to be completed in September.”
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