Phone-in scandal claims its next victim as GMTV chief quits

The scandal of fake television phone-in competitions claimed another casualty yesterday when the managing director of GMTV, Paul Corley, announced that he is resigning.

Mr Corley will step down after new measures have been implemented to restore confidence in the programme. GMTV admitted yesterday that a "significant number" of callers had been misled into entering competitions with no chance of winning. Most of the abuses occurred between June 2005 and March 2007, with a smaller number occurring over the previous two years.

The company has promised to offer refunds to any callers who were cheated, and to donate £250,000 to the children's charity ChildLine.

The series of scandals affecting several major television stations has put the Government under pressure to step in but Gordon Brown said yesterday that the industry would have to put its own house in order.

Replying to a call from a Labour MP for government action, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons that the faking of telephone competitions was "a very serious matter" that was undermining public faith in the television stations. He added: "It is a matter for these authorities to sort out - and they should do it quickly."

Mr Corley was appointed head of GMTV in 2001.