Pride marches still fine, Davie tells BBC staff

A backlash to new rules has prompted Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, to clarify that staff can still attend Pride marches. Workers were warned to avoid “public demonstrations or gatherings about controversial issues” as part of reforms to stifle accusations of bias, but staff feared being barred from LGBT events. Mr Davie said there was no ban on “clearly celebratory”, non-politicised events and fears about Pride were the result of “inaccurate commentary”.

‘There is a good deal of anger, not only among LGBT staff. As a journalist, you have to take your authentic self to work and be seen to take a stand for inclusion and injustice’

THE BBC’S director general has been forced to clarify new rules on attending Pride and Black Lives Matter marches amid growing staff anger against his crackdown on perceived bias.

The broadcaster issued guidance on Wednesday instructing employees to avoid “public demonstrations or gatherings about controversial issues” as part of reforms to stifle accusations of partiality.

However, the rules, intended to quell public criticism of the BBC, have led to an outcry over fears that employees would be barred from supporting LGBT events.

Tim Davie was forced to issue a clarification yesterday stating that there was no ban on “clearly celebratory” and non-politicised events. Fears about Pride were the result of “inaccurate commentary”, he said.

Those working in news and current affairs simply had to be cautious about events which could be “deemed political or controversial”, he added.

But employees are confused by what exactly makes something too politically charged, and some have discussed strike action to protest feared limits on free expression and assembly.

Employees are unsure whether they can support Black Lives Matter, or if LGBT gatherings could be deemed politicised if they involve transgender issues or policy in Northern Ireland.

Ordinarily innocuous football preferences could also become more contentious in heated sectarian circumstances, some have suggested.

“It ’s massively confusing,” one senior member of staff told The Daily

Telegraph. “There is a good deal of anger, not only among LGBT staff. As a journalist you have to take your authentic self to work and be seen to take a stand for inclusion and against injustice.”

There was an immediate outcry after the BBC issued rules to curb “virtue signalling” and overt support for specific causes in a bid to dampen accusations of political bias.

Seeking to explain the new rules Mr Davie told staff yesterday: “Attending Pride parades is possible within the guidelines.” He added: “Due care needs to be given to the guidance and staff need to ensure that they are not seen to be taking a stand on politicised or contested issues.”

But one source said this clarification only “made things worse”, and the definition of what was politicised was open to broad interpretation by managers charged with advising staff on potential controversy.

Black Lives Matter support may be unacceptable after the BBC banned staff wearing support badges on air, and support for less obvious causes like stem cell research could also be contentious in a religious context.

However, some employees have welcomed the changes, telling The Telegraph that they are “common sense” measures to ensure the BBC is seen as politically neutral.

Mr Davie said: “Protecting the BBC’S impartiality is core to everything we do.

“We must ensure that we avoid doing anything that endangers audience perceptions of the BBC’S impartiality and to protect the ability of staff in news and current affairs to report fairly and impartially.”