November 6, 2024

George Osborne latest name to be linked with BBC chairman job

George Osborne #GeorgeOsborne

George Osborne wearing a suit and tie looking at the camera: Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

George Osborne is the latest name to be linked with the job of BBC chairman, according to reports.

The former chancellor and Conservative MP is being encouraged to apply for the role, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Osborne, who stepped down as editor of the Evening Standard in June after three years, is not believed to have been approached over the vacancy yet.

Ministers increased the salary this week for the part-time position to £160,000 a year. A source told the newspaper that ministers could further increase the pay packet to £280,000 in order to tempt Osborne.

The BBC declined to comment on the latest speculation.

Video: England’s new Covid-19 measures: Johnson attempts to simplify rules (France 24)

England’s new Covid-19 measures: Johnson attempts to simplify rules

SHARE

SHARE

TWEET

SHARE

EMAIL

What to watch next

  • a person cooking food on a tray

    French prime minister provides details on curfew

    France 24

  • timeline

    Coronavirus in France: Curfews to come into force in several cities saturday

    France 24

  • a group of people around each other

    ‘Free our friends!’: Thousands defy Thai crackdown after emergency decree, arrests

    France 24

  • a person standing posing for the camera

    France Covid probe: What is the Law Court of the Republic, established to try ministerial misconducts?

    France 24

  • graphical user interface, website

    Coronavirus in UK: Alert level raised in London, stricter measures imposed

    France 24

  • a group of people posing for the camera

    Thailand protests: Hundreds of protesters gather in Bangkok, defying ban

    France 24

  • a man wearing a suit and tie

    Emerging economies at growing risk of debt crisis

    France 24

  • a person sitting in front of a store

    Coronavirus in France: Curfew leaves Paris’ restaurants on the brink of bankruptcy

    France 24

  • a screen shot of Emmanuel Macron in a suit and tie

    France Coronavirus pandemic: Macron orders anti-virus curfew.

    France 24

  • graphical user interface, website

    Thailand protests, pro-democrary protesters and royalists hold rival rallies

    France 24

  • a group of people looking at the camera

    In Lesbos, France 24 meets refugees bound for mainland after Moria blaze

    France 24

  • a person standing in front of a building

    Coronavirus in France: Alsace, former epicenter of Covid, coping with crisis today

    France 24

  • a man wearing a suit and tie

    Homes of French health minister, other officials, raided in Covid-19 probe

    France 24

  • a person posing for the camera

    Ivory Coast begins presidential election campaigning amid violent demonstrations

    France 24

  • a man looking at the camera

    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: The question of religion in the fighting

    France 24

  • UK fishermen hopeful of netting late deal in EU trade talks

    UK fishermen hopeful of netting late deal in EU trade talks

    France 24

  • Click to expand

    UP NEXT

    UP NEXT

    David Clementi, the current chairman, is due to step down when his term in office ends in February, after overseeing the appointment of Tim Davie as the new director general.

    Other names linked to the role include David Dimbleby, the former Question Time host, Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the equalities watchdog, Lady Morgan, the former culture secretary, and Robbie Gibb, a former head of the Downing Street press office.

    It comes after Charles Moore, the former Daily Telegraph editor, ruled himself out earlier this month.

    Moore, whose writings on race and Islam have come under renewed scrutiny since he was publicly associated with the role, is understood to have backed away amid family health problems despite claims he was Downing Street’s top choice for the position.

    Reports had said that Moore, who was once fined for refusing to pay his television licence fee in protest at the BBC’s content, would have wanted substantially more than the current £100,000 licence fee-funded salary.

    Government sources have consistently emphasised that the formal recruitment process for the position has yet to begin.

    The speculation about Moore raised concern within the BBC about the direction that he would seek to take the corporation. Julian Knight, the Conservative MP who chairs the culture select committee, said appointing a man who refused to pay a licence fee as BBC chairman was “like being convicted of fraud and being in a bank”.

    George Osborne wearing a suit and tie looking at the camera: George Osborne, who stepped down as editor of the Evening Standard in June after three years, is not believed to have been approached yet over the vacancy. © Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA George Osborne, who stepped down as editor of the Evening Standard in June after three years, is not believed to have been approached yet over the vacancy.

    Leave a Reply