Naga warned again over conf lict of interest
BBC bosses have warned Naga Munchetty about a ‘conflict of interest’ for a second time after she was paid to be in a NatWest campaign.
Last month she was reprimanded for appearing in a video for Aston Martin.
It comes as BBC director general Tim Davie began in the role last week with a pledge to ‘recommit to impartiality’.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘Since this event, Naga has been reminded of the risk of conflict of interest when undergoing external engagements.’ Miss
Munchetty, 45, who earns around £190,000 a year at the BBC, hosted a series of online interviews about business for NatWest with public figures such as Ed Balls and Jo Malone.
In a similar role for Aston Martin, she hosted a public relations video.
BBC journalists can take on external work but must remain impartial and objective in line with the BBC’s code of conduct. The work could prompt complaints of bias if they were to be discussed by the journalist on the BBC.
Miss Munchetty, who competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, was at the centre of an impartiality row last year when the BBC’s internal complaints division found she had breached guidelines after she branded a tweet by Donald Trump racist live on air. Then director general Lord Hall overturned the decision and a separate investigation by Ofcom found she did not breach the BBC’s impartiality code.
Mr Davie last week said he would be implementing a ‘clearer direction on the declaration of external interests’.