BBC director-general Tim Davie has told staff that new impartiality guidelines will not prohibit them from attending Pride parades.

The new rules were set out on Thursday as part of a set of instructions and guidance, alongside new training, aiming to “ensure the highest possible standards of impartiality across the organisation”, according to the broadcaster.

However yesterday, Davie told employees he wanted to ensure “there is no room for misinterpretation, following inaccurate commentary and some feedback from staff – which is the ability to participate in Pride parades”.

He said: “There is no ban on attending Pride parades,” but added that staff “need to ensure that they are not seen to be taking a stand on politicised or contested issues” while at such events.

Davie added: “The guidance that we published yesterday made it very clear that staff outside of news and current affairs and factual journalism may attend marches, demonstrations and protests as private individuals.”

He said that protecting the BBC’s impartiality is “core to everything we do” and employees “must ensure that we avoid doing anything that endangers audience perceptions of the BBC’s impartiality and to protect the ability of staff in news and current affairs to report fairly and impartially”.

Rhammel O’Dwyer-Afflick, director of communications for Pride in London, welcomed the news but was concerned about how much support they can show for the rights of LGBT+ people.

He said: “The rights of trans people, queer people of colour and black trans individuals in particular should not be up for debate.

“All BBC employees should be able to freely attend events in support of trans communities, such as Pride, as well as Black Lives Matter protests without fear of repercussions.”