Independent directors on board at BT Openreach

Sir Brendan Barber, the former head of the TUC, has been appointed to the board of BT’s infrastructure arm Openreach.

The former trade union chief and current chairman of Acas will join telecoms veteran Edward Astle as independent members of a newly formed board that will oversee “strategy, investment and service delivery” at Openreach.

BT faced calls from rivals to separate Openreach, and in November Ofcom ordered a legal separation of the firm.

The communications regulator stopped short of forcing a full break-up and sale of Openreach and added it remained “open” to proposals from BT for a voluntary separation of the division.

The firm said the reorganisation will create “increased operational and management independence for Openreach”.

An Ofcom spokesman said the changes fall short of its requirements for a legally separate Openreach that delivers for all of its customers.

The regulator is to raise the issue with the European Commission.