BBC board members must now declare social events with cabinet ministers
The Guardian|May 12, 2023
BBC board members will have to declare when they have social drinks or attend dinner parties with cabinet ministers, in the wake of Richard Sharp's resignation as chair of the broadcaster.
Jim Waterson
BBC board members must now declare social events with cabinet ministers

Sharp announced his intention to quit the BBC last month after an external investigation concluded he should have declared his connection to a secret £800,000 loan facility made to Boris Johnson.

The BBC board has now concluded that in the future "meetings between board members and senior political figures including social events" should be recorded.

Given that the BBC board members include some of the best-connected businesspeople and officials in the country, this creates the potential for an extensive record of meetings between the people who ultimately control the national broadcaster and the people who run the government.

This story is from the May 12, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the May 12, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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