Leave views at the door or get another job, Robinson tells colleagues

NICK ROBINSON has told his BBC colleagues they should “get another job” if they want to share their political opinions on Twitter.

The presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme said he wholeheartedly supported the impartiality rules brought in by Tim Davie, the new director-general. “I think he was spot on,” Robinson told Radio Times. “I talked to him a lot before he announced it.

“We all have views, but when you take a job at the BBC you leave all that at the door. I’m not paid to tell you my opinions. It’s simple – if you want to tell people what you think, get another job.”

Mr Davie has said he is prepared to sack any presenter who breaches impartiality guidelines.

Robinson found himself at the centre of controversy for voicing his opinions on the Government last year, albeit on stage and not on social media.

Appearing at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, he described Boris Johnson’s “People’s PMQS” on Facebook as “a form of propaganda used by dictators down the ages”. His remark drew a robust response from senior Tories including Iain Duncan Smith, who said Robinson’s assertion was “fundamentally incorrect”.

In his Radio Times interview, Robinson also commented on Oliver Dowden’s r eview of public s er vi c e broadcasting.

Mr Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said the panel of experts he had assembled should look at whether or not public service broadcasters such as the BBC are needed at all.

Robinson said it was “fine and right for politicians to ask that question” but added that he was “confident” about what the answer will be. “Yes, we need to adapt, but the BBC is something that makes Britain special, so we need to preserve it. If you want to know the value of public service broadcasting, watch American TV news, then tell me that’s what you want,” he said.