The French are on the BBC's side

The French ambassador, Bernard Emié, has expressed his sympathies for the embattled BBC.

Speaking at the reception for the humanitarian NGO Télécoms Sans Frontières at the French Residence last night, the ambassador said: “We should not rush to criticise them. It is very difficult to have perfect chains of command at the top of any large organisation.”

Such a fiasco, he claimed, could have as easily taken place at France Télévisions, his own country’s public service broadcaster.

“I do hope the BBC is able to sort it out. It is a great institution.”