Huw Edwards Scandal: UK Government Defends Itself Against Concerns It Meddled In BBC Crisis
The UK government has said it was “important” to raise questions with the BBC about the Huw Edwards scandal amid concerns it could have called the broadcaster’s independence into question.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer took the unusual step in July of holding talks with BBC director general Tim Davie over the “deeply concerning” allegations that news anchor Edwards paid a young person for sexually explicit images.
Frazer was questioned about her intervention during a hearing held by the House of Lords’ influential Communications and Digital Committee on Wednesday. Committee chair Baroness Stowell said it was not “standard” for the government to be in contact with the director general over a BBC operational matter.
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Stowell suggested that it would have been more appropriate for Frazer to have engaged with the chair of the BBC board, which is responsible for holding the corporation to account. Dame Elan Closs Stephens is the BBC’s acting chair following the departure of Richard Sharp earlier this summer.
“That was a very serious issue and it was important that the government made its views known,” Frazer replied. “On this issue and many others, I have spoken to both the chair and the director general. I have set up a regular meeting with the chair to ensure that, on this and other issues, she continues to hold the [BBC] executive to account.”
Stowell’s line of questioning follows concerns about the BBC’s closeness to government. Richard Sharp was forced to resign as BBC chairman in April after it was revealed that he helped facilitate a loan for Boris Johnson, the former prime minister.
Deadline revealed in June that BBC boss Davie was in contact with a senior government official on the day he suspended Gary Lineker, raising questions about whether he was pressured to punish the presenter for breaking impartiality rules.
Elsewhere during the Lords committee hearing, Frazer confirmed that the government had launched a review of the BBC’s funding model and would be calling on “external assistance” in establishing whether the license fee requires reform.
Frazer added that BBC’s mid-term review is “nearing conclusions.” Launched in May last year, the review assesses whether the corporation’s governance and regulation are performing effectively. Specifically, ministers are examining the BBC’s impartiality and audience complaints process.
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