Chris Patten’s extraordinary response to Miles Goslett’s question over Mark Thompson’s integrity shows a man on the verge of cracking under the pressure. Why did Thompson say he had never heard any allegations against Jimmy Savile if he signed off the crucial Sunday Times letter threatening legal action for the suggestion he did? And why wouldn’t Patten be drawn on the subject? The Pollard Report found that “it is clear that Mr Thompson did approve the sending of the letter”, putting the New York Times CEO, and his massive BBC pension, in an awkward position to say the least. The contempt Patten clearly holds for the hack who blew the whole story open is very telling…