The director general of Danish broadcaster, DR has resigned following a scandal involving the bribing of a journalist. Kenneth Plummer gave up his posts after it was revealed that he attempted to stop the publication of revelations about his private life by bribing the author of a book with confidential information.
According to Journalist Kurt Lassen, in a taped interview for his biography, Plummer disclosed the names of two external candidates who also went for the job of the DR’s director general when he was appointed in 2005. The names of such people are normally kept strictly private and the breach of confidentiality could be subject to criminal charges, according to legal experts.
In the book, Plummer also accuses DR’s former head of news and current affairs Lisbeth Knudsen and former acting director general Lars Vesterlokke of running a hidden accounting system that was at odds with the company’s official figures. Knudsen, who is now the editor-in-chief of Berlingske Tidende, has demanded a retraction of the allegations.