B.B.C. (Chairman of Governors)

HC Deb 22 March 1972 vol 833 cc1480-1

8. Mr. William Price

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what discussions he has now had about the appointment of a new Chairman of the Governors of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

21. Mr. Whitehead

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether the procedures for selecting a new Chairman of the Governors of the British Broadcasting Corporation will be the same as on the occasion of previous appointments.

Mr. Chataway

I have nothing to add to my replies of 9th February to my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Stratton Mills) and of 1st March to the hon. Member for Manchester, Openshaw (Mr. Charles R. Morris).—[Vol. 830, c. 1319; Vol. 832, c. 380.]

Mr. Price

Will the Minister make it clear that he has no intention of appointing a politician whose job it will be to placate some of the more neurotic anti-B.B.C. Members on the other side of the House? Does he agree that the less interference the B.B.C. gets from either side of the House the better it will be for all of us?

Mr. Chataway

No, Sir. I should not want to rule out any specific category, least of all politicians, for whom I have a high regard.

Mr. Cormack

Will my right hon. Friend consider offering this job to the Leader of the Opposition?

Mr. Chataway

It is an interesting suggestion, but one would want to think very carefully about it before committing oneself to a reply.

Mr. Whitehead

If the usual consultations are under way, is not the real problem the executive nature of the job as exercised by the present incumbent? Will the right hon. Gentleman make it clear in the consultations which must now go on that the B.B.C. is searching for a Chairman of Governors and not an executive head whose activities have to some degree, I think, damaged the previously healthy relationship between the Chairman and the Director-General of the B.B.C.?

Mr. Chataway

The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that a balance has to be struck here. The Chairman and the Governors have the ultimate responsibility not only for running the B.B.C. but for acting as trustees for the public.