New BBC chairman set to be named

The UK’s culture department is set to name a new chairman of public broadcaster the BBC.

Former Bank of England and Virgin Money deputy governor David Clementi has been recommended for the post by an Department of Culture, Media and Sport panel, according to various reports.

The hire will need approval from UK prime minister Theresa May. She is expected to greenlight the move, which culture secretary Karen Bradley has put forwards after a selection process.

The others reportedly on the final shortlist were Civil Aviation Authority chair Deirdre Hutton and Penguin Random House chairman John Makinson.

In April, UK media regulator Ofcom will take on responsibility for policing the BBC, resulting in closure of current watchdog, the BBC Trust.

It was, in fact, Clementi who wrote the initial report recommending the scrapping of the BBC Trust. He will, ineffect, replace BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead.

It is a time of significant upheaval at the BBC, which will soon see its production arm, BBC Studios, become a wholly-owned, commercial subsidiary.

This plan won government approval in December, meaning the BBC will be able to produce for rival networks for the first time and concurrently scrap in-house production quotas – in effect opening up more business opportunities for indies.