THE head of the BBC will be in Edinburgh this afternoon to be quizzed by SNP MSPs.
Tim Davie accepted an offer of a meeting with the SNP at Holyrood after other executives at the BBC were questioned on why he had privately met with Conservative MPs at Westminster.
In October 2023, Davie had spoken at a private meeting of the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs. Reports said the appointment had been arranged the previous July.
Davie’s appearance at the meeting was brought up when BBC chief financial officer Alan Dickson and BBC Scotland director Steve Carson faced questions from MSPs on Holyrood’s culture committee in January.
READ MORE: Parties warned against 'blurring lines between Englishness and Britishness'
Keith Brown, the depute leader of the SNP, asked the pair: “I wondered, given that we've seen in recent times the director-general of the BBC attending a meeting of Conservative MPs at Westminster, if we can expect a similar kind of courtesy from the director-general in this parliament?
“In terms of direct communication with the director-general to raise some concerns, is that possible?”
Dickson said that previous director-generals had appeared before Holyrood committees, leading Brown to highlight how Davie had attended a meeting for “a particular political party,” not a parliamentary committee.
“Is that a courtesy extended to all parties?” the SNP MSP asked.
Dickson replied: “I'm sure the director general would be open to communication. If there are any issues or any concerns to put towards him, I'm sure he would respond accordingly.”
On Tuesday, Politico reported that the BBC had “eventually accepted” the SNP’s offer of a meeting at Holyrood and he would be in the Scottish capital on April 23.
Topics expected to be discussed at the meeting include a restructure of Scottish news output which Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has described as “massive cuts”.
Robertson wrote to both Davie and Ofcom in February raising concerns about the cuts, saying: “Scotland has seen great recent success in its screen and TV sector and this decision to downgrade the news output runs counter to that success. I would like to express how urgent this issue is and meet to discuss as soon as possible.”
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel