Sir Robbie Gibb was appointed BBC non-executive director with responsibility for England for a three year term at the end of April. The role is one of four directly appointed by the Government, via the DCMS; the BBC recruits five other non-executives.
Political columnists have suggested that his candidacy was promoted by Dougie Smith, husband of Number 10 adviser Munira Mirza. One aide told The Sunday Times "He kept putting Robbie’s name on the list and Boris kept taking it off.” In the mid-1980s Dougie was an officer of the Federation of Conservative Students, as was Robbie Gibb; the Federation was closed down by Norman Tebbit for being too right wing.
Many see Dougie as the tactician of Culture Wars, stiffening Oliver Dowden's (and others) resolve in putting right thinkers in key positions. Others have claimed he's identified equalities minister Kemi Badenoch as a rising star in this field - Dougie thinks she might be a good replacement for Gavin Williamson at Education.
In January Badenoch took on the website Huffpo, then edited in the UK by Jess Brammar, in a Twitter row over the conduct of reporter Nadine White. Brammar, now a candidate for a BBC News job deemed unappointable by Sir Robbie, demanded an apology. The Cabinet Office eventually said none was necessary. Two months ago, Brammar gave her side of the story to a podcast, Truth To Power. The relevant section starts at 5.42.
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