DRUGS SHAME

ALMOST 100 BBC staff were disciplined in the past year for offences including drug and alcohol abuse, bullying and harassment.

But the publicly funded broadcaster is refusing to reveal how many shamed workers kept their jobs.

And the corporation used a data protection loophole to avoid revealing the names of staff, their rank or whether they are still employed.

The figure means close to two BBC workers per week were disciplined for breaching company rules.

Our revelation will spark worries the BBC is still not doing enough to tackle bullying and harassment in its ranks – even after the fallout from the 2012 Jimmy Savile scandal.

We can reveal BBC workers were also rebuked for dishonesty, fraud, theft, breaking confidentiality procedures and health and safety breaches.

Further misdemeanours included misuse of BBC equipment – believed to include accessing hardcore porn on company computers.

The figures emerged after a Freedom of Information request to the BBC.

Despite our request including a demand to reveal how many of the disciplined staff held on to their jobs, the BBC refused to answer.

It said they feared “releasing this information could lead to individuals being identified”.

The BBC – known for using loopholes to avoid releasing information under the Freedom of Information Act – added: “Personal information about identifiable living individuals is exempt if disclosure to a third party would breach one or more principles in the General Data Protection Regulation.”

Beeb bosses also refused to detail some of the offences committed by its workers – listing some under the categories of “other” and “unprofessional conduct/behaviour”.

A BBC source told us: “It’s typical of the BBC to try to wriggle out of full disclosure when it comes to disciplinary proceedings against its staff as the company is notorious for trying to protect its talent.”

The latest BBC disciplinary figures follow the revelation in

2014 that only one staff member was dismissed despite hundreds being disciplined.

Another investigation in 2011 found hundreds of staff had been disciplined for major rule breaches.

It showed a total of 410 disciplinary procedures were recorded by the corporation from April

2006 to 2011.

Eleven employees were rapped for drug abuse, believed to be cocaine, as well as alcohol addiction-related offences.