“There is a long-established precedent in the BBC that if you’re an entertainment presenter or you’re a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same rules” on impartiality, former director-general Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4 over the weekend.
BBC Director General Tim Davie has made protecting impartiality one of his major priorities.
Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesMore problematic still is that the same thorny questions about impartiality extend to the BBC’s leadership.
“It’s a mess, isn’t it?” former BBC executive Peter Salmon told the cooperation’s flagship political presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday.
“He’s got views, he’s got passions … it may be that Gary has outgrown the job, and his role in the BBC.”