A howl of rage rose from every level in BBC television yesterday as the most popular and creative BBC One Controller for years was escorted from the building. Well, the howls did not come from every level; only from those who actually make programmes. From nearer the top there were probably sighs of relief.

Take Jana Bennett, Director of Vision, criticised in the Wyatt report for her “lack of curiosity” when clearly told by Fincham that the story was untrue. Or those in the Communications department, who appear to be a bunch of wet hens. The Director-General himself has presided over this shambles (and others) while remaining miraculously unscarred. And no doubt the creative director Alan Yentob is glad to have the spotlight taken off his own dishonesties.

Which is the deliberate deceiver? The Wyatt investigation makes clear that Peter Fincham — misled by an independent company with a taste for sensational falsification — made an honest mistake on a busy day, and reported it as soon as he knew. Buckingham Palace accepted his apology. Meanwhile, Mr Yentob, who, despite being a senior executive, has commissioned himself as the channel’s main globetrotting arts presenter, has been fingered for repeatedly having his own nodding image cut in to interviews he did not bother to do personally. When this came to light, he used his Sunday newspaper column to sneer loftily that critics were “losing their heads” and that “there can be artifice without deception”.

Yet he seems safe, as do Ms Bennett and the DG. They are old hands, whereas Fincham, whose expertise lies in programme-making and talent-spotting rather than politics, is a newcomer to the incestuous snakepit of BBC senior management. So he is the one pressured into resigning from a channel to whose quality and ratings he has done immense good.

These views ricocheted round the small, tense world of television yesterday, overlaid by a hopeless sadness. As one senior editor said: “A decent man, binned for the sins of others.” Outside commentators may feel righteous satisfaction, for the Queen's sake, that heads have rolled inside the BBC as well as out. The only trouble is — wrong head. This will not make the corporation’s crisis of confidence any better; rather the reverse.

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