Departing BBC news boss ‘tired of being neutral’

Media and Technology Editor THE BBC news boss tipped as the next director general quit yesterday to launch his own media company.

Sources claim that James Harding became fed up with the Corporation’s restrictive rules on impartiality. He has secured backing for a UK-based media operation which will have ‘a distinct approach to the news and a clear point of view’.

Mr Harding, 48, said: ‘There is some journalism that the BBC can’t, and probably shouldn’t, do. And that’s what I want to explore.’

His resignation was a huge shock to staff although he will not leave until the start of next year.

Sources close to Mr Harding, editor of The Times before joining the BBC in 2013, said he has been weighing up a move for months.

One said: ‘He is quite bored of the management side of BBC news and wants to be able to express his opinions again.’ Another added that Mr Harding has spent a long time resisting financial cuts.