Board of Governors of the BBC

The Board of Governors of the BBC is a group of twelve people who together regulate the BBC and represent the interests of the public, in particular those of viewers and listeners.

Controversy

The government of Margaret Thatcher appointed a succession of governors with the apparent intent of bringing the BBC "into line" with government policy. Marmaduke Hussey was appointed chairman of the Board of Governors apparently with the specific agenda of bringing down the then-Director-General Alasdair Milne; this government also broke the tradition of always having a trade union leader on the Board of Governors.

Related Topics:
Marmaduke Hussey - Alasdair Milne

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It has also been suggested that Harold Wilson's appointment of the former Tory minister Lord Hill as chairman of the Board of Governors in 1967 was motivated by a desire to undermine the radical, questioning agenda of Director-General Sir Hugh Greene - ironically Wilson had attacked the appointment of Hill as Chairman of the Independent Television Authority by a Tory government in 1963.

Related Topics:
Harold Wilson - Lord Hill - 1967 - Hugh Greene - Independent Television Authority - 1963

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In January 2004 Gavyn Davies, who had been appointed chairman of the Board of Governors by the Labour government in 2001, resigned in the wake of the Hutton Inquiry. Subsequently, the acting chairman was Lord Ryder, previously a Conservative MP and a member of Margaret Thatcher's personal staff. It has been claimed that Ryder and other Conservatives on the Board of Governors were effectively responsible for "forcing out" Director-General Greg Dyke, who had not initially believed that his offer of resignation would be accepted by the Governors. In May of 2004, Michael Grade took over as permanent chairman.

Related Topics:
2004 - Gavyn Davies - Labour - 2001 - Hutton Inquiry - Lord Ryder - Conservative - MP - Greg Dyke - Michael Grade

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