Energetic Brokers of Get together Politics on the BBC Board
Emily Maitlis generated a little bit of a stir final evening and made clear, as if we didn’t know the place her political allegiances lay, by condemning BBC board member Robbie Gibb as an “lively agent of the Conservative get together”. This was on the idea that he was Theresa Could’s Downing Avenue spin physician – neglecting to say that he was the previous head of BBC politics. He’s additionally an ardent defender of the BBC licence price.
It’s, in fact, stunning {that a} Tory is on a BBC board that has traditionally been full of Labour supporters. Blair’s former SpAd Ed Richards left Downing Avenue to hitch the board of Ofcom. There was no outcry as there was when Dacre was pencilled in for an Ofcom function. Richards then went to the BBC technique staff and was within the operating for BBC Director Basic. Can’t keep in mind Maitlis talking out about him.
Gavyn Davies, the Goldman Sachs tycoon, midwife of Quantitative Easing, and adviser to Gordon Brown, was appointed BBC chairman. This was after he donated a piece of his wealth to the Labour Get together, of which he had been a long-term supporter. This sparked allegations of cronyism as his spouse, Sue Nye was additionally Gordon Brown’s proper hand lady. Greg Dyke, one other Labour Get together donor, was additionally on the board regardless of having made his cash at ITV (Robbie Gibb, Maitlis complained, suggested GB Information). Guido can discover no public utterance by Maitlis about these appointments.
Ian Hargreaves, a former editor of the left-wing New Statesmen, was a BBC board member. James Purnell, a former Cupboard Minister beneath Blair was a BBC board member, and even appeared on Newsnight with out his former political affiliations being talked about by Maitlis in any manner. Clearly, the truth that Maitlis has a brand new podcast to publicise has nothing to do together with her new-found concern for the previous political affiliations of BBC board members.
