BBC stars angry at censorship

Colin Adamson12 April 2012

Senior BBC presenters are in revolt over orders that their opinions should be censored by management to avoid charges of political bias.

In future household names such as John Simpson, Andrew Marr and John Humphrys will have to get advance clearance if they want to write about controversial political issues in magazine or newspaper columns.

The move has infuriated some presenters, who say they will not be gagged. Part of the reason for their anger could be the lucrative fees they get for their written opinions. Some earn up to £50,000 a year for weekly articles.

Humphrys in particular has been criticised for highly-political columns in the Sunday Times.

The BBC's widening of its "conflict of interest" guidelines follows a row caused by TV cook Jamie Oliver's £1 million advertising contract.

Despite fronting BBC2's The Naked Chef, Oliver has appeared in television commercials for Sainsbury's. Insiders said the BBC felt there was a conflict of interest between Oliver's adverts for Sainsbury's and his ideas for the show.

A new clause in the guidelines warns staff not to write articles which could " undermine the BBC's impartiality" and warns that news and current affairs presenters must not say anything off-air which could affect the public's perception of their on-air role.

A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC's most prized possession is its impartiality. We have re-written the guidelines to make explicitly clear to BBC staff - or people who are primarily a BBC artiste - that they should clear it first with their department head if they intend to write or talk about controversial public policies."

The guidelines increase pressure on BBC staff following an outburst from chairman Gavyn Davies last week.

Mr Davies said he would prefer for staff to be sacked for onair blunders than for the corporation to be fined. Last year Director General Greg Dyke condemned staff who attacked the BBC in public.

In an email to journalists he complained of "on air talent who seem to think it is fair game ... to criticise the BBC while continuing to receive its money."

He said it was "not acceptable for certain people to think it is okay to go on public platforms, or into the press, and criticise the organisation".

Marr, the BBC's political editor, writes a column for the Daily Telegraph, while world affairs editor Simpson writes in the Sunday Telegraph.

Humphrys writes the Sunday Times column as well as presenting the BBC's flagship Today programme and On The Record. Other BBC stars with newspaper columns include Jeff Randall and Libby Purves.

The updated management censorship edict includes "more detail about off-air activities to be undertaken and what constitutes a conflict of interest". It further states there is "clear advice for regular news and current affairs presenters to make sure that anything they write or say publicly off-air does not undermine their on-air role."

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