Hypocrisy of the BBC

WHEN it comes to preaching against sex discrimination, tax-dodging or the shocking lack of transparency in public life, there’s no one more self-righteous than the BBC.

Yet a devastating report by an all-party group of MPs finds that, on all three charges, the Corporation is itself a serial offender. indeed, the hypocrisy exposed by the Commons culture committee is nothing less than breathtaking.

on the gender pay gap, the MPs find an ‘invidious’ and ‘opaque’ crony culture at the BBC has led to scores of women being paid less than men who do comparable jobs.

on tax, they say many presenters have been ‘disgracefully’ coerced into channelling their pay through highly questionable personal service companies (PSCs). these are estimated to have cost the taxman tens of millions of pounds, while allowing the BBC to cut its national insurance bills and escape its responsibilities over sick leave, holidays and maternity pay.

As for staff pushed to set up PSCs, they were initially able to cut their tax bills by thousands of pounds a year. But now they are subject to a HMRC investigation, with some facing six-figure bills for unpaid tax.

Meanwhile BBC bosses – those great champions of openness (except when it comes to their own conduct) – have been found to have cynically exploited a loophole, allowing them to avoid declaring stars’ salaries by paying them through the commercial arm, BBC Studios.

Just a word of caution about the MPs’ recommendations. is it too much to hope that in closing the gender pay gap, the Corporation will stop overpaying men – instead of overpaying women too? it’s only our money, after all.