The Times - UK (2020-10-15)

12 1GM Thursday October 15 2020 | the times

News

Naga Munchetty has been given her

own show on Radio 5 Live in addition to

presenting BBC Breakfast.

Munchetty, 45, said that she was “ab-

solutely thrilled” to be moving into

radio, having become a household

name on the breakfast sofa.

She will take over the news and sport

station’s mid-morning weekday show

from 10am to 1pm, replacing Emma

Munchetty to race from the Breakfast sofa to her Radio 5 Live desk

Matthew Moore Barnett, who is to be the new presenter
of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
Munchetty, who earned £195,
from the corporation in 2019-20, has
rarely been out of the headlines since
The Times revealed last year that she
was reprimanded for breaching impar-
tiality rules by criticising President
Trump’s comments about ethnic
minority Democratic politicians.
That decision was overturned by
Lord Hall of Birkenhead, as the

director-general of the BBC, after view-

ers and diversity campaigners com-

plained that she had been punished for

calling out racism.

More recently Munchetty has twice

been warned about potential conflicts

of interest after accepting money to

appear in promotional videos for

Natwest bank and Aston Martin.

She was awarded the permanent role

on Radio 5 after appearing as a guest

presenter over the summer. Munchetty

said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be join-

ing the 5 Live team. I have always

wanted to work more in radio and after

such an enjoyable experience present-

ing on the station recently, I jumped at

this opportunity. I can’t wait to get stuck

into the role from January.”

Munchetty, who joined the BBC in

2008 and became a lead presenter on

BBC Breakfast in 2014, will present

Monday to Wednesday. Heidi Dawson,

the BBC Radio 5 Live controller, said:

“Naga is a brilliant broadcaster and a

fearless journalist, making her the per-

fect fit for our mid-morning pro-

gramme. She impressed us while work-

ing briefly at the station in the summer,

when our listeners loved her warmth,

wit and straight-talking interview style.

“I’m sure she will make the mid-

morning programme a must listen.”

Barnett, 35, is replacing the long-

standing hosts Jane Garvey and Dame

Jenni Murray on Woman’s Hour.

The culture secretary has cast doubt on

plans to decriminalise licence-fee eva-

sion by warning that the government

must not send the message that pay-

ment dodging is acceptable.

Oliver Dowden admitted yesterday

that there were “major challenges” in

ending the prosecution of people who

refused to buy a TV licence, as he for-

mally launched the recruitment pro-

cess for the next BBC chairman.

Decriminalisation has been pushed

by No 10 as a means to “whack” the cor-

poration, cutting its revenues by an es-

timated £250 million a year. Replacing

the criminal sanction with a civil penal-

ty — removing the threat of jail for

evaders — had been described as a

“done deal” by government sources, but

Mr Dowden indicated that he had res-

ervations about the proposed reforms.

Tim Davie, the new director-general,

has argued that decriminalisation

“doesn’t pass the logic test” as cases

turns to its core values of impartiality”

and starts reflecting the views of north-

ern suburbia as much as loft-apart-

ment-dwelling north London hipsters.

Candidates for the job must possess the

Journalist

leaves BBC

after claims

of trolling

Matthew Moore

A BBC journalist accused of using an

anonymous Twitter account to troll the

presenter Emma Barnett has left the

corporation, The Times understands.

Nimesh Thaker, who worked at BBC

World News, is said to have shared criti-

cal messages after Barnett used her

Radio 5 Live show to speak about the

impact of the Holocaust on her family.

One post retweeted by the account alle-

gedly controlled by Thaker accused

Barnett, who is Jewish, of using “the

same old ‘antisemitism’ excuse when-

ever people criticise Israel”.

He also described Tim Davie, the

new BBC director-general, as “white

male Tory”, according to an investi-

gation by the Jewish Chronicle.

BBC managers launched an urgent

investigation after Oliver Dowden, the

Culture Secretary, described the allega-

tions as “very concerning.”

Thaker is understood to have re-

signed from his job as a broadcast jour-

nalist while a disciplinary process was

being pursued, meaning he will escape

any further scrutiny. The BBC declined

to comment, saying that it could not

discuss an individual’s employment

status.

However, a corporation source said

that the case had caused deep concern

internally, especially as the tweets were

aimed at a respected BBC colleague. “It

was widely felt that this was not an ex-

ample of poor judgment in tweeting. It

was much more serious than that,” the

insider said. They described the out-

come as an “important signal” to other

corporation’s other journalists.

Barnett, 35, is one of the BBC’s rising

stars. She was recently named the new

presenter of the Radio 4 programme

Woman’s Hour, in addition to co-host-

ing Newsnight.

The tweets allegedly written by

Thaker were posted under the pseudo-

nymous handle Not that Bothered.

They include assertions that Israel is

“racist” and a “white supremacist state”.

Thaker has been approached for

comment.

We cannot let TV licence dodging

become acceptable, says minister

Matthew Moore Media Correspondent account for only 0.3 per cent of time in
magistrates’ courts. Only five people
were jailed for refusing to pay an eva-
sion fine last year.
A civil enforcement system could
prove even more draconian, as bailiffs
would be handed the power to enter the
homes of debtors to seize their goods.
People could also have their credit
ratings affected for up to six years.
“I do think there are major challen-
ges around decriminalisation, which
we can continue to consider,” Mr Dow-
den told the culture select committee
yesterday. “I am concerned that were
we to choose to [decriminalise], we do
not send a signal that it is acceptable not
to pay your TV licence.”
It would be preferable to consider
decriminalisation alongside the BBC’s
next licence fee settlement, which will
determine the cost of the temporary
levy from 2022, he suggested. At
present a TV licence costs £157.50.
Mr Dowden said the next BBC chair-
man must ensure the corporation “re-

strength and credibility to “hold the

BBC to account”, he added.

The culture secretary denied that the

BBC chairmanship, now held by Sir

David Clementi, had been offered to

Lord Moore of Etchingham, a Conserv-

ative columnist and arch-critic of the

BBC, as had been widely reported.

The advert for the role, published

yesterday, says applicants must have

the “ability to challenge and vigorously

scrutinise the operation of the BBC”, in-

cluding on impartiality. The successful

candidate will earn £160,000 for three

or four days’ work a week, a jump from

Sir David’s £100,000 salary.

Mr Dowden accused the BBC of fail-

ing to spot the support for Brexit, ad-

mitting that he had had the same blind

spot. “Many of us are guilty of too much

reflecting on our acquaintances and

our local area,” he said.

Mr Dowden’s department consulted

on plans to decriminalise the licence fee

earlier this year and is expected to an-

nounce its decision by Christmas.

Joys of spring David Hockney’s artwork No 241 is among 116 iPad drawings completed by the artist this year which will go on display at the Royal Academy in 2021

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS/DAVID HOCKNEY/PA

Runners and riders

Sir Robbie Gibb Led BBC

Westminster before working as

Theresa May’s communications

director. Said to be No 10’s choice.

George Osborne The former

chancellor quit as Evening Standard

editor. He is looking for a new berth.

Baroness Morgan of Cotes Seen as

the safest option, given her past

experience as culture secretary and

reputation as a moderate Tory.

David Dimbleby The former

Question Time host considered an

application as the “defend the BBC”

candidate and may still apply.

Emma Barnett was attacked on Twitter

after she talked about the Holocaust