One Crown Office Row duo lands roles on BBC review
One Crown Office Row silk Christina Lambert QC and Kate Beattie of the same set have won roles on the Dame Janet Smith-led review of the BBC.
The barristers have been brought in by Reed Smith partners Richard Spafford and Carolyn Pepper.
Former High Court judge Dame Janet is examining the culture at the BBC during the years that Jimmy Savile worked there. It is part of a two-pronged internal inquiry at the corporation, led by ex-Sky News head Nick Pollard, with a second probe into why a Newsnight investigation into Savile was shelved.
The BBC has been criticised for ignoring evidence that the DJ was a sex offender.
Culture secretary Maria Miller previously said the appointment of Reed Smith would “help ensure that they [the BBC] are able to conduct their reviews free from any conflicts of interest and with both a keen independent eye and expert legal support” (25 October 2012).
Lambert is known for her clinical negligence practice and expertise in professional discipline. She was called to the bar in 1988 and made silk in 2009. Beattie was called to the bar in 2007 and has a broad civil and public law practice including professional negligence and professional disciplinary law.
Spafford is practice group eader of Reed Smith’s Europe and Middle East commercial disputes group and regularly advises corporates, committees and independent bodies in confidential and sensitive investigations. Pepper is a commercial disputes partner.
