Prime Minister “Ought To” Give Up Role In Future BBC Chair Appointment, Says Former Director General Tony Hall
deadline.comThe Prime Minister “ought to” give up their involvement with the hiring of the BBC Chairman in the future following the Richard Sharp scandal, according to former Director General Tony Hall.
Hall urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “say something interesting” about the government’s involvement with the process, which, in Sharp’s case, led to a chain of events surrounding the Boris Johnson loan scandal that has forced the former Goldman Sachs banker and Conservative Party donor to resign.
Hall, who was BBC DG between 2013 and 2020, told the Voice of the Listener & Viewer (VLV) Conference that the Prime Minister of the day “ought to” give up their involvement in the Chair appointment, which is currently decided by a government committee. “When you say the Prime Minister appoints the Chairman people tend to respond with a wry grin and question whether that is really independent,” he said.
Hall forecasted that the Prime Minister will “probably not” remove himself from the process in the near future and that this debate could rear its head when the next BBC Charter is drawn up by 2027.
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