LONDON — The director general of the BBC on Tuesday defended the institution’s handling of a burgeoning sex abuse scandal involving one of its best-known personalities, Jimmy Savile, saying the corporation was not trying to ‘‘avoid answering questions’’ and had begun inquiries that were ‘‘the opposite of an attempt to hide things.’’

The director, George Entwistle, was appearing before a parliamentary panel that has played a major part in investigating Britain’s phone-hacking scandal and is known for its often abrasive interview techniques. But in more than two hours, Entwistle seemed to parry most questions, falling back frequently on the argument that formal inquiries that he has commissioned at the BBC would resolve some of the issues.