Watchdog stopped ministers breaching neutrality code in top BBC and BFI hires
A watchdog had to prevent ministers breaching a strict code on political neutrality and independence during the search for new chairs for the BBC and the British Film Institute (BFI), the Guardian can reveal.
A Freedom of Information Act response by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (Ocpa) showed that ministers were asked to replace interview panellists for the high-profile jobs because they were “not sufficiently independent”.
The regulator has described such breaches as “threatening to undermine the independent status” of a role intended to bring “challenge and rigour” to finding appointable candidates for selection by cabinet ministers, including the prime minister.
The regulator also stepped in twice to demand changes
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