VETERAN TV executive Samir Shah is set to be appointed new BBC chairman, according to reports.
The role was vacated earlier this year by former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp, who resigned after failing to declare his connection to an £800,000 loan made to Boris Johnson.
He has since been replaced by acting BBC chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens.
Shah is currently chief executive of award-winning production company Juniper TV, which makes a number of political and current affairs programmes.
READ MORE: BBC licence fee – what happens next?
He was previously the BBC’s head of television current affairs, and later ran the BBC’s political journalism department at Millbank.
The appointment, which is made by the Government, is expected to be announced as early as Wednesday afternoon, according to the Financial Times.
Shah was an executive on the controversial report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which concluded that the “claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence”.
Shah has also criticised “woke warriors” in an article discussing the cultural appropriation of food.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been contacted for comment.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here