Mishal Husain calls for end to ministers picking BBC board members amid existential crisis'

"What is at stake now is well beyond the BBC and speaks to the challenges of maintaining trust in our polarised age, she said. I did see serious issues play out from the inside. This one feels existential, she said. MPs and BBC staff members have called for Robbie Gibb, a board member and former Conservative No 10 press secretary facing accusations of a rightwing coup, to be removed from the corporation's board"

"She called for courage to introduce a new system at the state broadcaster which separated it from government. In increasingly divided societies, national institutions need to inspire trust across a large segment of the population, and yet several members of the BBC board including the chair are appointed by the government of the day, Husain said. Now is the time for courage, for a non-partisan system of board appointments as well as continued accountability to the public."

"I'd argue that matters beyond the UK's borders: it is far easier to pick apart institutions than focus on making them fit for our fractious age, and for the future. She commented before a culture, media and sport committee hearing next Monday, in which the BBC's chair, Samir Shah, and the non-executive directors Gibb and Caroline Thomson are expected to give evidence about editorial standards at the public broadcaster."

The BBC faces an existential crisis after the resignations of director general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness amid controversy over board member Robbie Gibb. Calls have grown for Gibb’s removal and for structural changes to guard editorial independence. The director general role currently combines chief executive and editor-in-chief responsibilities, overseeing more than 5,000 journalists, creating a remit arguably too vast for one person. A proposed response includes separating governance from government through non-partisan board appointments while maintaining public accountability. A culture, media and sport committee hearing will examine editorial standards with senior board figures due to give evidence.

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