BBC News; S4C: Dad of sacked boss Sian Doyle sends scathing letter to channel

Story from BBC News:

The father of sacked S4C boss Sian Doyle has written to the UK government and the channel to blame them both for his daughter taking an overdose.

Dennis Jones said he was considering his legal position against the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the S4C board.

S4C called Mrs Doyle being in hospital "worrying" and said it had offered the family support.

Mrs Doyle was sacked in November by the S4C Authority.

That followed a report by Capital Law into claims of bullying by members of S4C management.

After the unanimous decision to remove her, the authority said the evidence of the investigation was "deeply troubling" and that changes had to be made immediately.

The DCMS said its "thoughts and prayers" were with Mrs Doyle and that it expected the S4C board to address matters identified by the Capital Law probe urgently.

In his letter, Mr Jones criticised what he saw as a succession of failures by the DCMS and S4C.

He blamed them for his daughter being rushed to hospital, adding that his daughter had "survived but is still very much not out of danger".

He claimed his daughter had lodged a complaint to the DCMS and to S4C's directors about "constant" bullying by channel chairman Rhodri Williams.

S4C said last week no finding of bullying had been made against Mr Williams.

Mr Jones claimed Mr Williams had run "a regime of despotism" throughout his daughter's tenure at the channel and sacked her "without consultation".

An anonymised summary of Capital Law's report published this month contained allegations Mrs Doyle's "dictatorial" management style created a "culture of fear".

Mrs Doyle said she did not "recognise or accept" the allegations.

Her father dubbed the report part of a "campaign of persecution" against his daughter and claimed it was one sided.

Previously the S4C Authority said it was "committed to ensuring that S4C is a place where our staff are happy and safe."

It said it recognised it "needed to restore confidence and trust in the organisation".

The DCMS said it wished Mrs Doyle a speedy return to health and that "public service broadcasters, like every organisation, have a responsibility to uphold a duty of care to all employees".

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