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BBC veterans have warned Downing Street that it risks compromising the station’s independence by stating that it wants former Telegraph editor Charles Moore to be the corporation’s next chairman before the process begins. of appointment.
Concerns were also raised about Moore’s commitment to the public broadcaster, given that he has been a serial critic of the license fee in public and private.
Along with Moore, Boris Johnson also wants to hand over the chairmanship of communications regulator Ofcom to former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre as part of a broader attempt to shake up the media by putting right-wing figures in key positions.
Mark Damazer, a former Radio 4 controller and a member of the BBC’s governing board, accused No. 10 of “undermining the hiring process by giving such strong direction. Pressure is increasing on those responsible for interviewing candidates. “
Current BBC President David Clementi will step down in February, but the formal recruitment process for the position has not yet started. One source said there were still disputes over the salary, with Downing Street pushing for an increase from the existing level of £ 100,000 a year.
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, said he would launch the nomination process for the BBC shortly and praised the two former editors, saying “clearly, there are strengths in both Charles Moore and Paul Dacre.” He added that he wanted a “great and strong person who can hold the BBC to account.”
Insiders said there were particular concerns about the extent to which Moore supported the station and its long-standing model funded by license fees. “You have to be in the universe to believe in the BBC,” argued one.
Earlier this year, the 63-year-old Moore said the license fee was “the biggest mistake on which the BBC rests” and an “offense to freedom”, arguing that it should be reduced significantly, cutting the budget that would have to spend on radio and television.
In theory, the principle of the license fee, a mandatory annual tax of £ 157.50 for all TV-owning households, is safe until the next revision of the BBC’s statutes in 2027. But there is a revision in the middle period scheduled for 2022, which will set its level and review the governance of the BBC.
The BBC president has no direct responsibility for individual programs, but he does have the power to fire its CEO, Tim Davie, who just started in office earlier this month. The president also directs the board, responsible for maintaining accuracy and fairness.
Ten years ago, Moore was fined £ 262 for refusing to pay the annual fee because the BBC failed to fire Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand after the presenters were accused of intimidating actor Andrew Sachs live.
The journalist and newspaper columnist, Johnson’s former boss, is known for a variety of outspoken opinions, having argued in the past that Muslim immigration meant “more political unrest, more community tension, more intolerance of other religions and more terrorism.”
Moore has also said that he views the threat of climate change as scaremongering – in contrast to the overwhelming scientific vision – and has written that it is designed to produce “unprecedented government control and the relative impoverishment of Western societies.”
Nicky Campbell, the host of the breakfast on Radio 5 Live, highlighted a passage from an “interesting column” in which Moore suggested that the ultimate consequence of the marriage equality legislation would be that people could marry their dogs.
Moore also once claimed that Olivia Colman had a “left face” and therefore was not a suitable actor to play the Queen, in the Netflix adaptation of The Crown, although as president of the BBC, she would not have voice in casting decisions.
As with the BBC, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is due to start a public appointment process for the presidency of £ 120,000 a year of Ofcom, the communications regulator whose activities cover broadband, spectrum management mobile phone and postal services. , as well as commercial television and complaints against the BBC.
Dacre, 71, has spent his entire career in newspapers, which are not regulated by Ofcom, culminating in his 26-year editorial direction of the Daily Mail. Downing Street sources said the reports about the two men lining up for the jobs were “generally” correct, though they added that “neither has crossed the line yet.”
Labor said he did not want to get into a political discussion about Moore or Dacre until “the proper process” had been completed. Jo Stevens, the shadow culture secretary, said the party would “give our opinion then” and accused No. 10 of trying to distract the public from the coronavirus crisis.
“Why are there stories in the newspapers about potential people who become heads of public service organizations? [when] people are worried about their work and their health? “asked the Labor MP.
