Former No 10 spin doctor Robbie Gibb joins BBC board
Sir Robbie Gibb, a former Downing Street head of communications, has been appointed to the board of the BBC.
Gibb will take up a three-year term as nations director for England on the board, which is responsible for ensuring the BBC fulfils its mission and public purposes.
The spin doctor, who served under Theresa May between 2017 and 2019, previously worked as a journalist at the BBC between 1994 and 2017.
At the time of leaving he was head of BBC Westminster and editor of live political programmes, having also worked as deputy editor on Newsnight.
He is currently a senior communications adviser for consultancy firm Kekst CNC and is also a director at the Jewish Chronicle.
The appointment of a major Conservative Party figure to the BBC board comes amid a growing row over alleged political bias at the corporation.
Boris Johnson’s government has ramped up pressure on the broadcaster’s licence fee funding model amid accusations of “metropolitan bias”.
Gibb was a vocal supporter of Brexit and has been critical of the BBC, accusing Radio 4’s Today programme as being “trapped by its own ‘woke’ group think”.
Gibb’s appointment was made by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport — one of four non-executive positions chosen by the government.
The BBC appoints a further five non-executive directors and four executives including director general Tim Davie.
BBC chairman Richard Sharp said: “I welcome the appointment of Sir Robbie Gibb as the member for England, bringing with him a wealth of broadcasting experience which will be a valuable asset to the BBC board.”