Post by Teddy Bear on Jul 19, 2009 19:44:52 GMT
With their usual sense of morality we have come to expect from the BBC it's no surprise that companies associated with senior executives have particularly benefited.
How long is the public going to put up with this?
How long is the public going to put up with this?
BBC in cronyism row over paying £1.2 million in fees to family members
The BBC has paid £1.2 million in fees in the last year to companies owned by close relatives of senior executives in new allegations of cronyism, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.
By Andrew Pierce and Heidi Blake
Published: 7:00AM BST 18 Jul 2009
The lion's share was taken by Samir Shah, a non executive director of the corporation, whose production company Juniper Communications was paid £715,000 last year. Mr Shah, who owns 70 per cent of Juniper, is paid £35,000 as a member of the BBC executive board which oversees the corporation's management and directs its editorial output.
The payments to Juniper will also further enrich the family of Jana Bennett, the BBC head of Vision, who is tipped to be the first woman director general of the corporation. Miss Bennett's husband Richard Clemmow owns 10 per cent of Juniper. Last year Miss Bennett was paid £535,000 by the BBC.
Menna Richards, the Controller of BBC Wales, approved payments of £147,372 to Torpedo a production company in Cardiff partly owned by her younger sister Ceri.
Ms Richards, whose journalist husband was also paid £49,000 by BBC Wales, took over in February 2000 a few months before her sister's company was set up. Last year Torpedo was given 13 commissions by BBC Wales.
Laura Parfitt, whose husband Andy is the controller of Radio 1, won £73,000 of radio commissions from the BBC for her White Pebble Media company which she owns. One was from Radio 1. The company has done more than 20 productions for the BBC in the last two years.
Sarah Lancashire, the actress wife of Peter Salmon, the £400,000 director of the north of England operations, earned £185,000 from the BBC last year. Miss Lancashire starred in a sitcom, All the Small Things, which was panned by the critics.
The BBC insisted that all the contracts were awarded on merit and that there was no favouritism. A spokesman said: It is inevitable in a business such as the TV and radio industry that there will be occasions when members of the same family work in related parts of the industry.
"The BBC's rigorous conflict of interest policy recognises this and lays down strict procedures to prevent an actual conflict of interest arising. Executives with a close relationship to someone in a company we are doing significant business with may not play any role in the decision making process related to the award of any such business including commercial sum agreed."
Among the commissions won by Juniper Communications is a new Radio 4 series the Generation Gap. Mr Shah's brother Mohit Bakaya is a commissioning editor on Radio 4. Mr Shah, the former head of BBC Westminster, also has a contract for two regional Sunday politics shows. He produced the Undercover Diplomat on BBC 2 in which Jonathan Powell, who was Tony Blair's chief of staff, talked about the Northern Ireland peace process.
Mr Shah, a friend of Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, and Lord Birt, the former director general of the BBC, bought Juniper in 1997 from Michael Wills a government minister.
The BBC has paid £1.2 million in fees in the last year to companies owned by close relatives of senior executives in new allegations of cronyism, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.
By Andrew Pierce and Heidi Blake
Published: 7:00AM BST 18 Jul 2009
The lion's share was taken by Samir Shah, a non executive director of the corporation, whose production company Juniper Communications was paid £715,000 last year. Mr Shah, who owns 70 per cent of Juniper, is paid £35,000 as a member of the BBC executive board which oversees the corporation's management and directs its editorial output.
The payments to Juniper will also further enrich the family of Jana Bennett, the BBC head of Vision, who is tipped to be the first woman director general of the corporation. Miss Bennett's husband Richard Clemmow owns 10 per cent of Juniper. Last year Miss Bennett was paid £535,000 by the BBC.
Menna Richards, the Controller of BBC Wales, approved payments of £147,372 to Torpedo a production company in Cardiff partly owned by her younger sister Ceri.
Ms Richards, whose journalist husband was also paid £49,000 by BBC Wales, took over in February 2000 a few months before her sister's company was set up. Last year Torpedo was given 13 commissions by BBC Wales.
Laura Parfitt, whose husband Andy is the controller of Radio 1, won £73,000 of radio commissions from the BBC for her White Pebble Media company which she owns. One was from Radio 1. The company has done more than 20 productions for the BBC in the last two years.
Sarah Lancashire, the actress wife of Peter Salmon, the £400,000 director of the north of England operations, earned £185,000 from the BBC last year. Miss Lancashire starred in a sitcom, All the Small Things, which was panned by the critics.
The BBC insisted that all the contracts were awarded on merit and that there was no favouritism. A spokesman said: It is inevitable in a business such as the TV and radio industry that there will be occasions when members of the same family work in related parts of the industry.
"The BBC's rigorous conflict of interest policy recognises this and lays down strict procedures to prevent an actual conflict of interest arising. Executives with a close relationship to someone in a company we are doing significant business with may not play any role in the decision making process related to the award of any such business including commercial sum agreed."
Among the commissions won by Juniper Communications is a new Radio 4 series the Generation Gap. Mr Shah's brother Mohit Bakaya is a commissioning editor on Radio 4. Mr Shah, the former head of BBC Westminster, also has a contract for two regional Sunday politics shows. He produced the Undercover Diplomat on BBC 2 in which Jonathan Powell, who was Tony Blair's chief of staff, talked about the Northern Ireland peace process.
Mr Shah, a friend of Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, and Lord Birt, the former director general of the BBC, bought Juniper in 1997 from Michael Wills a government minister.