BBC's Clive Myrie Failed to Declare £145K+ in Outside Earnings

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • BBC presenter Clive Myrie has apologized for failing to declare between £145K-£255K in external earnings, with retrospective declarations dating back to March 2021.[1][2]
  • The 60-year-old newsreader, who earns a BBC salary of £310K, plus additional compensation for hosting Mastermind, received more than £10K for five events and between £5K and £10K for eighteen other engagements.[3][4]
  • Myrie's undeclared work included roles as moderator, host, speaker, and panel chair for organizations such as American Express, the Football Association, and the National Residential Landlords Association.[3][1]
  • The BBC's external events register, introduced in 2021, requires on-air staff in journalism and senior leadership roles to declare their external earnings as part of the corporation's commitment to maintaining impartiality.[5][6]
  • Following the disclosure, Myrie announced he would cease participating in paid external events for the foreseeable future, though said he would fulfill pre-existing commitments.[7][8]
  • This comes as the BBC published its Q3 external events register on Wednesday. Stating that 'robust management action' had occurred against 'significant non-compliance,' they said they would be updating the guidelines in future.[9]

Sources: [1]Sky News, [2]BBC News (a), [3]The Telegraph, [4]Independent, [5]The guardian, [6]The Sun, [7]X (a), [8]X (b) and [9]BBC News (b).

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by X and BBC News. Clive Myrie’s failure to declare external earnings was a mistake, and he has taken accountability by apologizing for the administrative oversights. He’s not alone in making retrospective declarations — with other BBC presenters also involved — while the BBC has committed to clarifying its expenses policy. Myrie has committed to halting further paid external engagements and has worked to correct the record.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Daily Mail and GB News. Myrie’s actions expose serious issues with transparency and BBC governance. Despite earning a substantial salary, his repeated mishandling of external earnings and unconvincing excuse of “administrative issues,” coupled with the lack of meaningful consequences, reflect poorly on the organization’s governance standards. Failing to disclose significant external payments all while having a lofty salary propped up by the license fee payer is yet another example of gross BBC misconduct.

Predictions