Richard Sharpe told MPs that Maitlis was “absolutely wrong” to categorize Robbie Gibb as an “active agent of the Conservative party” on the BBC board. Appearing before the digital, culture, media and sport committee, Sharp, himself a former donor to the Tory party, insisted the BBC was insulated from political influence. “We value the editorial independence of the BBC,” he said. Sharpe added: “Just to be categorical. He [Gibb] he does not serve on the board as an agent of the Conservative party. This was completely wrong. It was one of the mistakes Emily Maitley made [in her MacTaggart lecture] and I’m very disappointed that he made that particular point.” BBC director-general Tim Davie confirmed the BBC received “almost daily” feedback from the government on its output. He said the calls from ministers had led to reflection at the BBC rather than panic. He also defended the company’s decision to issue a swift apology following Maitlis Newnight’s critical monologue about Dominic Cummings’ lockdown trips to Durham and Barnard Castle. Davie said: “As far as Newsnight is concerned, the BBC is clear, it stands by the decision it made by the way. I wasn’t the general manager at the time, but I think it’s absolutely the right decision, no doubt. Emily is an excellent journalist, I respect her opinion, but we disagree on this.” Davy said Gibb had not complained about comedian Joe Lycett hijacking the BBC’s new Sunday program with Laura Kuensberg when he mocked an interview with Liz Truss. He said there were only 66 complaints about the program and none were internal. Davy suggested that the reported furor over Lycett had been misled by the press. He dismissed an MP’s question about the Daily Mail “going tonto” on Lycett on its front page on Monday, saying: “If I started reacting to every piece of news I’d be half dead by now.” He added: “The public saw it for what it was. As of yesterday, front page and front page, we had 28 complaints, and it was up to 66 complaints [today].” Davie described Lycett’s performance as “outstanding” but denied that it showed the company was left-leaning. He said: “We can discuss the merits of this particular booking. I don’t think it shows BBC bias in the slightest.” Asked if it was useful for democracy to make fun of the powerful, Davy said: “More than very useful. Necessary.” Davey showed irritation when asked by Labor MP Rupa Hook if he would again be a Conservative councilor as he did in the 1990s. He said: “There is no danger from this. It was several decades. The [Huq’s question] tells you about the voodoo of this. I’m glad that others are active in the area.” Davey also defended the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, Gary Lineker, against accusations that he uses his Twitter account to criticize the government. Last month, Lineker tweeted: “As a politician how could you ever, under any circumstances, vote to pump sewage into our seas? Unfathomable!” Conservative MP Steve Brine said: “We pay him £1.3m and he is a brilliant insider. I don’t care what he thinks about the quality of the water.” Davey said he had spoken to Lineker about his use of Twitter and that his use of the platform had improved “in terms of his entry into party politics”. He added: “I think it’s a work in progress in terms of where to draw the line, but we had a good discussion. I think he understands the instructions.”
