Farcical scenes from the Lords inquiry into BBC funding this afternoon, as half the panel charged with discussing the future of the licence fee immediately admitted to having financial interests – including pensions – in the BBC. This is a panel that also happens to include Tony Hall, the ex-Director General of… the BBC. Obviously this couldn’t possible prejudice the impartial outcome of the inquiry’s work…

Yesterday the BBC announced an eye-watering £100 million programme over three years to increase diversity and inclusivity. A remarkable amount for an organisation that is constantly claiming it doesn’t have enough taxpayer cash…

Yet the push has got off to a bad start. A new announcement today declares BBC Wales is to see 60 jobs cut – approximately 6% of its workforce – in a bid to make £4.5 million in savings. The BBC, therefore, have begun their ethnic diversity push by culling a swathe of their linguistic minority (Welsh) employees…

Director-General Tony Hall has said that due to the impact of Coronavirus and other financial challenges, the BBC overall needs to make £125 million of additional savings. If only the BBC could somehow find, say, a spare £100 million down the back of the sofa, Guido’s sure that would really help their finances…

In case you missed it: BBC appoints yet another white male Director-General

The ultimate insider pick. Davie temporarily covered in the role as a stop gap before Tony Hall after the resignation of George Entwistle in 2012. He has now officially become the BBC’s seventeenth Director General. There will do doubt be some grumbles that he is white and male…

UPDATE: The BBC are getting in some good old fashioned BBC bashing today, with Media Editor Amol Rajan on air making a point that Davie was privately educated. He later clarified on Twitter that whilst Davie did go to a private school, he attended on “a scholarship, and was the first in his family to go to university.” Oops…

Appearing before the DCMS select committee was never going to be an easy ride for Tony Hall, especially after its newly-elected Chair, Julian Knight, has publically called for licence fee reform. Lord Hall was repeatedly challenged on diversity of thought at the Beeb. Unsurprisingly, Hall seems happy with the status quo…

Lord Hall has written to all BBC staff to explain his abrupt decision to step down from his role as BBC Director-General this summer. He wants the same person to be able to lead the corporations’ 2022 review as will see through the 2027 charter renewal. Read his letter in full here…

Dear colleagues,

First of all, thank you for all your comments and feedback since I spoke to you from Cardiff last week. It was really important to me to set a clear direction for us, as well as celebrating some of the outstanding work you’re doing.

My reason for writing is however more personal. I wanted you to be the first to know that I will give my all to this organisation for the next six months, as I have done these last seven years. But in the summer I’ll step down as your Director-General.

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