Edelman London chief Ed Williams is counseling incoming New York Times CEO Mark Thompson regarding the alleged BBC sex scandal surrounding former TV celebrity Jimmy Savile.

Thompson served as the BBC director general at the time the BBC killed a "Newsnight" investigative report covering Savile's alleged abuse of young children. He denies spiking the program about Savile, who died last year at the age of 84.

Williams left the BBC director of communications post in 2011 to helm the London outpost of the No. 1 independent shop.

NYT chairman Art Sulzberger has expressed support for Thompson, who is to join that company on Nov. 12.

A letter to staffers from Sulzberger and vice chairman Mark Golden stated: "Our opinion was then and remains now that he possesses high ethical standards and is the ideal person to lead our company."

British police say Savile may have molested more than 300 children.

Edelman also was called in to handle another high-profile British media scandal: the phone hacking spree by Rupert Murdoch's News York, which led to the shutdown of the News of the World.

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