The BBC has turned to Blackstone Chambers' Dinah Rose QC for advice on the ongoing investigation into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal.

Rose's instruction was announced today (23 October) during BBC director general George Entwistle's appearance before the Commons culture committee looking into the scandal.

Entwistle was facing questions over his knowledge of a shelved Newsnight investigation into former BBC star Savile, who died last October and has since been the subject of a string of sex abuse allegations.

The news marks the latest in a number of high-profile appointments for Rose, who represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on his high-profile appeal against extradition to Sweden this May, while she also recently acted for News Group Newspapers on a High Court case relating to the phone-hacking scandal.

She has also advised on a number of key cases regarding employment law and law firm partnerships in recent years, including putting forward an argument on behalf of the UK Government in April this year in the closely-watched Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes (CWJ) age discrimination case.

The case involved an attempt by law firm CWJ to enforce a compulsory retirement age against partner Leslie Seldon; however, in a key ruling for the legal profession and employers in general, the Supreme Court found in favour of CWJ.

She also previously acted for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on its high-profile age discrimination battle against former partner Peter Bloxham in 2007 that saw the magic circle firm emerge successful.

The BBC has also asked former Appeal Court judge Dame Janet Smith to investigate whether culture and practices at the BBC enabled Savile to carry out the alleged sexual abuse of children; however, the probe has been put on hold until after the police investigation.

The Savile inquiry comes after a number of high-profile inquiries launched by the Government this year, including the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

In a separate development, Russell Jones & Walker partner Liz Dux is gearing up to launch a case against the BBC and Stoke Mandeville hospital on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse by Savile, marking the first legal representation to emerge on the claimant side.