KEY POINTS:
The BBC has admitted that an employee posed as a member of the public for a phone-in competition on Radio 1 in April last year - the latest in a series of trust breaches that have rocked the corporation.
The production team had asked the member of staff to make the call for a pre-recorded section of the Jo Whiley show.
A number of staff members have been disciplined, the BBC said, but no further details were available.
The pre-recorded section was unusual for a live show but had been arranged because Whiley, one of the most high-profile DJs on the flagship national station, had been involved in other commitments on that day.
"We would like to make clear that Jo Whiley was unaware that the caller was not a genuine member of the public," the BBC spokesperson said.
The BBC Trust said it was aware of the breach of editorial standards, and was satisfied management were taking appropriate action. It is the latest in a string of scandals to have blighted the BBC and other media channels, involving fake on-air competitions.
Last month, the BBC admitted producers of long-running children's programme Blue Peter had deceived thousands of young viewers for a second time in a year.
Youngsters had been asked to help name the show's cat in an online vote, but producers ignored the result without telling the audience, opting to go for "Socks" instead of the winning "Cookie".
The show, one of the BBC's longest-running programmes, had been fined £50,000 ($134,356) by the media regulator Ofcom.
- Reuters
