BBC Chairman’s Job Attracts Raft Of Applications
Almost 80 applicants are understood to have put their names forward for the role of BBC chairman following Gavyn Davies’ recent decision to step down in the wake of the Hutton Enquiry.
The number of hopeful candidates for the role is understood to have quadrupled compared to the last time the position became vacant three years ago. This has come as a surprise to many in the industry given that the BBC is entering one of the most difficult periods in its history, with talk of the licence fee being abolished and calls for a break up of the Corporation altogether.
Among those rumoured to have applied for the position of BBC chairman are former Tory MP Michael Portillo and Richard Lambert, former editor of the Financial Times. However, the position commands a relatively low salary of £81,320 and the possibility that the director-general role could soon lose some of its responsibility makes for a less than compelling proposition.
The top job became vacant after Gavyn Davies handed in his resignation over the findings of Lord Hutton’s inquiry into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly. The inquiry was highly critical of the BBC branding its editorial system as being deficient.
Davies’ resignation was closely followed by that of director general Greg Dyke, who recently revealed that the entire BBC board of Governors came close to resigning. Mark Byford is currently the favourite to take over from Dyke, after acting as director general since Dyke’s sudden departure in January (see Entire BBC Board Of Governors Came Close To Quitting).
The BBC still has a rough road ahead with increasing calls for a charter re-think and many senior figures such as Lord Tim Bell lending their weight to David Elstein’s controversial proposals to break-up the BBC and abolish its licence fee (see Chime Communications Boss Backs BBC Break-Up)
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