Salford Staff Need Personal Security Guards

[Teddy Bear]

The irony and karmic justice in this story will please most readers here.

It appears that following various attacks or incidents on BBC staff in Salford, apparently not related to any of their roles in the BBC, the BBC will now be assigning personal security guards to accompany those that feel danger travelling from and to work.

Naturally this will incur extra expense to the licence fee payer, but Hey, this has never bothered the BBC before in pursuit of their agenda.

I have to wonder whether the BBC will be referring to those that the staff are afraid of in Salford in the same endearing tones they used on rioters last Summer, and if they will excuse the violence in quite the same way.

I'm glad they live in fear - perfect justice.

Frightened BBC staff offered personal security guards after boss tells them Salford is a 'different kettle of fish' to London

By Rick Dewsbury

Frightened BBC staff are being offered personal security guards to escort them to their cars and tram stops when they leave the new northern HQ in Salford, it can be revealed today.

Workers at the £200m Media City complex - home to Match of the Day, children’s TV, Radio 5 Live and BBC Breakfast - have been told that Salford is a ‘different kettle of fish’ to the BBC’s White City HQ in in West London.

The 2,500 BBC workers in Salford have been reassured by head of security Tony Chebrika that ‘escorts could be arranged’ for frightened staff after a number of incidents in the past year.

The incidents include a BBC worker shot at with an air rifle as he cycled home and a producer who was chased by four yobs after he confronted them as they tried to steal bikes from BBC workers

In another crime, a BBC worker handed over a Hertz rental to a crook posing as a Hertz employee. There was also an assault on a member of security staff at Media City.

Various other crimes have taken place, including a string of thefts of computer gear from BBC employees.

In a leaked email intended to reassure staff about on-site safety, Rhian Roberts, head of development for BBC Radio 5 live and Sports Extra, said Salford was a ‘different kettle of fish’ to the BBC HQ in White City in West London.

She said: 'I’ve been looking at on site security on 5 Live’s behalf following a couple of incidents - and also the reality that Media City is a different kettle of fish to W12.'

In the same email, Tony Chebrika, the head of security for Peel Media Group - which owns and polices the site - said he could ‘arrange for escorts’ to take staff to ‘nearby car parks and tram stops’ if they we worried about going by themselves.

He also reassured staff that the site had 300 CCTV cameras and had ‘guards constantly patrolling’ - and that its control room operated 24 hours.

In spite of these precautions, however, details released in a Freedom of Information request by the BBC and Greater Manchester Police show crimes reported by BBC employees since last year include an assault, spray paint damage to property and multiple thefts of items such as laptops, iPads, smart phones and a PlayStation 3 games console.

The shows currently being broadcast from Salford include Match of the Day, Blue Peter, Dragons’ Den, Question of Sport and since Tuesday this week BBC Breakfast.

High profile presenters include Gary Linekar, Alan Shearer, Duncan Bannatyne and Sue Barker.

One BBC source, who now works in Salford, said: 'I don’t know what they expected moving a bunch of staff from the relatively calm and peaceful White City to Salford.

'London might have a bad reputation for crime, but Salford really is a different kettle of fish - it’s pretty rough and some staff genuinely worry about getting home, especially after finishing late.'

He added: 'Hardly any of the big names live in the area and swan in and out of the place as fast as Virgin trains will take them.

'It’s interesting to note all the luggage on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons as everyone descends or leaves Media City.'

Another source at the BBC stated: 'There is resentment that BBC staff have been sent there in a political fop.

'No-one is denying that the BBC shouldn’t be more reflective of the UK as a whole, but moving more than 2,000 staff to a place more renowned for knife crime than media creativity is hard to swallow.

'Most people would have left if there were actually other jobs to go to.'

Paul Newman, the communications boss for the Peel Media Group, said that Media City was home to ‘more than 50 commercial businesses’ - including Costa Coffee, Wagamama and Prezzo - and 378 apartments.

He said: 'From day one our policy has been to, on request, offer escorts to people who want to get to their cars or the tram stop, particularly late at night.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'The BBC doesn’t comment on security arrangements for staff or on private email correspondence.'

[Teddy Bear]

Another story today showing how BBC staff feel about their new location in Salford.
I wonder if they will be angering the police there quite so much as they do to the London Met.

'What, around HERE?' Five Live presenter's gaffe as Olympic athlete reveals she left her medals in car at new BBC HQ in Salford.

[carl1960]

Funny that any other employer wouldn't give you a body guard. At best they might give out rape alarms to the female staff. When I worked in the civil service I was given the office keys as I lived near by at the time and I opened up before most people had arrived, when the services were contracted out the security guard would not open the office up untill the second of 7:30 no matter how cold or dark it was. I had my keys taken from me of course. At the last company I worked for one female member of staff had to work an hour after we had gone. We were instructed by managment that we had to leave at this time, She then had to walk down an unlit country road to the bus stop as she didn't drive. That's my experience of how staff are "looked Out for" in the real world.

[Teddy Bear]

In the 'real world', companies have to show a profit and give service to get it. It's bad enough how all the regulations and health and safety and a million other considerations have been piled on companies by governments, clearly making it much tougher for them to make a profit.

But the BBC knows it will receive £3.7 Billion a year, and the fact that it can do these kind of things shows the lack of concern about delivering service in exchange for it. They'd rather award themselves salaries and expenses that are way out of proportion, besides all the other perks they award themselves, and which we have posted on in the forum.

There's 'real world', and there's the BBC world.