The British Broadcasting Corporation has rejected calls to remove Tyson Fury from its annual Sports Personality of the Year shortlist despite being accused by one MP of effectively putting a man with misogynistic and homophobic views on a “pedestal”.
The BBC Director General, Tony Hall, said the controversial boxer had been put on the list for his “sporting prowess” and that he trusted the public to judge who should win the contest.
Under further questioning by a committee of MPs, Hall admitted: “In terms of the policies that we promote, the BBC is completely at odds with what Tyson Fury has said.”
John Nicolson, an SNP MP and former broadcaster, read out two of Fury’s tweets underlining his homophobic and sexist statements, the latter talking about going home to break his wife’s jaw.
“What do you think women and gay kids watching this will think?” he asked. “That the BBC allowed him to go up on a pedestal?”
“I hope they will vote and make their views known,” said Hall, after pointing out that the list of 12 had been drawn up by a independent panel and not by the BBC.
Shadow Labour culture secretary Michael Dugher said that Hall had failed to “adequately justify” his refusal to remove Fury. “Tyson Fury has caused serious offence with his recent homophobic and sexist remarks, and he has rebuffed many opportunities to apologise or show regret. The Sports Personality of the Year awards are not just about celebrating sporting achievement, they are about honouring role models too.
“Tyson Fury crossed a line with his comments, and leaving him as one of the nominees will be seen by many as condoning his unacceptable behaviour. It’s not too late for the BBC to do the right thing and drop him from the programme.”
Asked by Nicolson whether someone who had made anti-Muslim remarks would be allowed on the list, Hall said: “I’m really not going to get into hypotheticals … one of the things key to the BBC is that we are impartial, a place where people’s views should be heard … For me, this is the fundamental principle. I trust our viewers, listeners, voters to make sense of what is going on.”
The ceremony on Sunday evening is expected to be one of the most controversial yet, with Fury’s inclusion prompting an online protest that which has been signed by more than 130,000 people so far, and a planned picket by gay and feminist rights organisations.
The BBC has previously come under pressure for failing to include any women in its annual shortlist. Hall said the BBC might consider changing the criteria after this year’s ceremony to include the idea that its sports personality should be a “role model”, but made no further commitment.
In his sixth appearance before a select committee so far this year, the same number as chancellor George Osborne and second only to Bank of England governor Mark Carney, Hall also said that a new governance system could improve accountability at the BBC while urging MPs to extend the life of the charter to avoid political interference.
In a surprise announcement, he also suggested that the BBC was considering moving a television channel outside London.
The BBC’s children’s television services and its sport department are currently based in Salford, although the decision to open a new centre in the north has been criticised, both for its costliness and over its failure to attract senior staff.
Asked if he could even conceive of basing a channel outside London by committee chair Jesse Norman, Hall said: “We’re thinking about a whole range of issues and yes, that’s something we’re looking at.”
Hall said that the current five-year review risked putting the corporation at the mercy of politicians too close to an election. “From the point of view of independence for the BBC, a charter that removes us from the five-year cycle is a good thing.”
Talking of the “inevitable tensions” between journalists and politicians during an election, Hall told the culture, media and sport (CMS) select committee that an 11-year charter period would be best as it would allow “two years after an election”.
The BBC was forced to accept the burden of offering free TV licences for the over-75s in July, less than two months after the election and 18 months before the end of its current 10-year charter, which runs out in at the end of 2016.
James Purnell, BBC head of strategy and former Labour culture secretary, said the five-year review meant the BBC faced a “sword of Damocles” with each new government. “There needs to be a proper debate every decade,” he said. “[And] at least a period when the BBC can scrutinise politicians without fear or favour.”
The BBC Trust, which is responsible for both governing and regulating the corporation, was called a “busted flush” in an influential report published by the CMS committee in February, and has gained few supporters since.
Hall said on Wednesday that a unitary board would offer “clearer lines of accountability”, with a non-executive chair responsible for governance.
The new board would be responsible for strategy and budgets and also for Hall’s length of tenure as director general.
Asked by Norman if a clearer structure would have avoided the governance “disasters” of recent years, such as Jimmy Savile scandal, Hall said a separate chief executive and chairman would offer “clarity and directness”.
Hall is currently chairman of the BBC executive board as well as director general.
The Guardian.
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