BBC editor ‘told colleague not to investigate’ £350m Brexit bus claim
Senior BBC Character Sir Robbie Gibb told a news editor not to investigate Vote for vacation That’s the campaign’s infamous claim Brexit would mean £350m a week pouring into the US NHSaccording to a new book.
Sir Robbie, the editor of live political broadcasts at the time of the referendum, was reportedly “appalled” at the idea of considering the claim after the vote and urged his colleagues to “move on”.
Rob Burley, the editor The Andrew Marr Show The claim was made in a new book about his time at the BBC at the time Why is this lying bastard lying to me?
Sir Robbie, currently on the BBC’s board after serving as communications director No10 under Theresa May, was keen to avoid accusations that the BBC would not ‘accept’ the outcome of the Brexit vote.
“All that has been done [Gibb] told me. It was time to move on,” the author wrote. “He believed that anything that looked back on the referendum would seem to voters like an attempt at a repeat.”
Mr Burley added: “There was a risk of giving the impression that the BBC could not accept the result and wished to discredit the result.”
Sir Robbie defended his decision by speaking to Mr Burley for his book, saying it is “just not true that politicians lie all the time”.
“£350m wasn’t a lie at all. It’s just campaigning. Nobody ever says ‘what if Labor says you have 24 hours to save the NHS?’ – but when it comes Boris Johnson, they do. So I just don’t have a truck with me.”
Former Andrew Marr editor said Sir Robbie’s views had been ignored and the Vote Leave Battle Bus claim had been questioned.
“Holding supporters of Brexit accountable for their claims was and is entirely journalistic,” he wrote. “It’s the same principle as judging a government that won the general election by its campaign promises once in power.”
Sir Robbie Gibb has been appointed to the BBC’s executive board in 2021
(Getty)
The book also alleges that Andrew Marr threatened to resign after being told he would not be able to interview Mr Johnson in 2019 unless the Prime Minister agreed to an interview with BBC colleague Andrew Neil.
“I thought ‘fuck you’. It’s my show.’ I do my kind of interviews my way,” Mr. Marr told the show’s editor.
The revelations came as a BBC reviewer noted there were “no concerns”. Richard SharpWhen he was BBC chairman, he violated his integrity after the nepotism row with Boris Johnson.
The internal review was commissioned after he became embroiled in a dispute over putting Mr Johnson’s Canadian cousin in contact with the then Prime Minister to get him a huge loan.
But attorney Adam Heppinstall KC’s independent report, commissioned by Rishi Sunak, previously found that he had violated the Code of Public Appointments after failing to disclose “potential perceived conflicts of interest” to the panel interviewing the candidates. .
The former Conservative Party donor resigned from his role at the company last month for helping the former Prime Minister secure the £800,000 facility. He will step down at the end of June.
