FRESH allegations of cronyism have been levelled at the UK Government over the appointment of Channel 4’s new boss.
It comes as former staff call for the future of the broadcaster to be protected.
The announcement of Sir Ian Cheshire as the new chair of Channel 4 has prompted fresh concerns that the Government is looking to privatise the state-owned broadcaster.
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Cheshire has long held links to the Conservative party after serving on a business taskforce for David Cameron’s government and overseeing the process which allowed Tory donor Ben Goldsmith a seat on the board of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural affairs.
Elsewhere, he is the former chief executive of Kingfisher, owner of B&Q and chairman of Goldsmith’s investment firm.
The appointment has been met with concerns from some of the broadcaster’s most high-profile names, with former news anchor Jon Snow expressing concerns for the channel’s future.
On Saturday he referenced the rumours that the channel could be turned over to the private sector and that he hoped Cheshire would defy expectations and protect “the public service strengths of the channel”.
He said: “I can’t believe the government has time to think about the privatisation of Channel 4 now, but unfortunately that seems to be the drift.
"Sir Ian would have to have no interest in broadcasting to be in favour of privatisation. So let’s hope he does have an interest in it.”
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Snow was joined by Dorothy Byrne, the former Channel 4 head of news and current affairs, in expressing concern over the appointment. Byrne alluded to the influence that Cheshire may allow the Government to have over the channel.
She said: “We have to hope Sir Ian puts the public good first and is not just an arm of the Conservative government.
“In a world where there is a lot of money for costume dramas, we should not forget that wider broadcasting is vital for democracy.”
Channel 4, while state-owned, derives all its funding from advertising and its privatisation has long been a target set by some vocal members of the Conservative party. However, Cheshire’s new role has brought concerns that the channel will be privatised back to the forefront.
Labour’s shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell has claimed her opposite number Nadine Dorries was “appointing a ‘yes man’ to pave the way for the sell-off of a great British broadcaster in the face of severe opposition in the independent production sector, as well as from the Tory backbenchers”.
The controversy surrounding Cheshire’s appointment comes after last week’s announcement that Tory peer Michael Grade will be the new chair of Ofcom, the broadcasting and communications watchdog. Grade has previously questioned the public service role that broadcasters play in television.
Grade’s new role prompted the Conservative chair of Westminster’s broadcasting oversight committee, Julian Knight MP, to publicly criticise the selection process. In an official statement, he said: “The appointments process feels broken.”
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A particular cause for concern was Grade’s “clear lack of depth” in the understanding of social media and online safety, which was exposed during questioning with Knight’s committee last week.
Knight said: “The fact that the DCMS [the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] has taken only a matter of hours to put aside our concerns highlights once again that there are serious underlying issues at play here.”
Commenting on the dual appointments of Cheshire and Grade, Powell said that the Government was putting their allies in key positions of power in the media.
She said: “Coming fresh off the heels of the appointment of a Tory peer as head of Ofcom, this decision stinks of more cronyism,
“Rather than advancing their war on Channel 4, a big driver of creative employment outside London, the Tories should focus on independent appointees who can do the job.”
Speaking favourably of Cheshire’s new position, she said he had “an impressive record at the helm of some of Britain’s biggest businesses”.
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