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Huw Edwards questions put to BBC boss Tim Davie in parliament - live updates

BBC director-general Tim Davie, acting chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens and policy director Clare Sumner are taking questions from the House of Lords' Communications and Digital Committee - just over a week on from the Huw Edwards allegations.

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Thanks for following along with our coverage of proceedings in the House of Lords. 

Here's a quick reminder of the main things that came out: 

  • The BBC probe into the Huw Edwards controversy could take weeks or months - with a report likely to to be completed in autumn;
  • The broadcaster came under "huge pressure" to name the presenter facing allegations but the BBC had a "duty of care" to him, its acting chairwoman said;
  • Complaints at the BBC can be "difficult" to judge because of their volume, director-general Tim Davie said;
  • It is the "right decision" for the BBC to remain impartial, Mr Davie said.
BBC director-general defends Gary Lineker's 拢1.3m pay packet

BBC officials are now being questioned on how much they pay their top stars - and in particular, Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker. 

Lord Young points out the former England star is on 拢1.3m a year, but says: "However good he is, he isn't the asset... the asset is Match of the Day."

He says the BBC "could sell MOTD anywhere" and that it could be run with "some really good presenters" who would do it "for a lower cost". 

Some people "think they're indispensable", Lord Young says, but the BBC should have a "long hard look" at "paying such extraordinary" salaries to its stars. 

Tim Davie says he believes the BBC has done a good job at putting pressure on the pay of its senior talent, but he disagrees with the suggestion that "anyone can do this".

He points out Lineker has played for England and has plenty of experience, so is "of immense value" to the BBC.

The market is "pretty hot for talent who carry an audience" so it is "worth investing in at a very limited level", he says. 

Mr Davie says there are 24,000 individuals who come on air and contribute, and only 68 are paid more than 拢178,000. 

He says that if all of them were taken down to 拢150,000, it would save the BBC 拢6-7m in its budget of 拢3.7bn. 

Therefore in terms of "hard savings", he says this is "not a hugely material chunk of money in terms of the overall BBC budget". 

BBC 'open' to 'radical things' on licence fee

Speaking about how the licence fee might evolve, BBC policy director Clare Sumner says the broadcaster looks at three areas. 

These are value, how lower income groups can be supported, and whether the licence fee is a regressive tax. 

She says the licence fee has "evolved with technology". 

The BBC is "looking at radical things as well" and is "open for that", Ms Sumner says.

BBC having to think about AI developments

Acting chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens steps in to offer some thoughts on the BBC's strategy for the future.

She says the BBC has been around for 100 years and has "survived because it's able to reinvent itself". 

This has involved moving from radio to television and then from television to multi-channels. 

Now, the broadcaster is having to think about new technology such as the metaverse and AI. 

Dame Elan says the BBC IPlayer offer should be "far more sophisticated", for example.

But she says the broadcaster "cannot leave people behind" who are less familiar with technology. 

BBC made 'right decision' to remain impartial - Davie

Director-general Tim Davie then turned to the role of the BBC, and "big decisions" that have to be made around the broadcaster.

He says: "We have some big decisions to make about the role of the BBC."

He goes on to describe a "real battle" for an organisation that has "no agenda but to find the truth and to report impartially".

Mr Davie says he has made the "right decision" but not the "easiest decision" to keep the BBC impartial "for all the noise around us".

"I think that will get more valuable," he adds.

Director-general questioned on how BBC holds highest-paid stars to account

Committee chairwoman Baroness Stowell asks how the BBC holds its highest-paid stars to account for upholding the broadcaster's reputation. 

Director-general Tim Davie says that due to the "history of this industry... we should all be concerned and appropriately diligent around the abuse of people in powerful positions". 

He says that when it comes to presenters or people in power, it is important to be "very, very clear about what your expectations are culturally as well as the policy".

Mr Davie is "proud of the work we've done over last few years" as there is now a "very clear code of conduct". 

He continues that a process has put in place which means staff members can report concerns through another channel other than just their line manager. 

This means staff have a "safe place they can go to with their concerns", Mr Davie says. 

Asked whether stars have a clause in their contract telling them not to bring the company into disrepute, Mr Davie confirms this is the case. 

Complaints at BBC 'can be difficult to judge' due to volume - Davie

Director-general Tim Davie is pressed on the BBC's response to complaints, and admits the broadcaster often gets "hundreds and thousands of complaints on scheduling issues".

He says there is "all of that coming through", alongside "complaints of this nature... which might be serious allegations".

"We have a lot coming into the BBC," he reiterates, saying: "This is a difficult thing to judge."

However, if there are concerns, complaints are passed to an investigations team, Mr Davie says.

"We have very experienced people who have a perfect background for this... and they look at what to do with what they've got in front of them."

Analysis: Frustration at journalists - but journalists felt the same

By Katie Spencer, arts and entertainment correspondent

It has been interesting to hear Dame Elan Closs Stephens effectively putting the blame onto journalists for not reporting the "visibility" of governance over the scandal. 

Our priority - she claims - was "reporting on the storm". 

By carrying out her briefing on Zoom there was huge frustration on the part of journalists who weren't able to ask her or BBC bosses questions on what they were doing.

BBC under 'huge pressure' to disclose name of presenter

Dame Elan Cross Stephens tells the committee that the BBC had a duty to act with "some calm and rationality" in the face of "lack of rationality and last of calm".

She describes a "huge pressure" to disclose "the name of somebody to whom we had a duty of care and a duty of privacy".

Dame Elan says she was trying her best "to make for a calm and rational discussion of the issue before we all got carried away".

Director-general Tim Davie is then asked whether the BBC is still in contact with the complainant at the heart of the allegations.

He says: "Since that weekend... we have been in touch with the complainant and obviously we want to be... appropriately listening to and understanding concerns."

Mr Davie reiterates that the BBC is in contact with the individual.

Journalists were 'interested in the eye of the storm'

Dame Elan Closs Stephens says she gave an "introductory talk" to about 40 journalists on Zoom while the Huw Edwards furore was ongoing. 

She says she "took them through the process, the incident that happened, how the board was dealing with it" and then made "further general observations about the independence of BBC". 

"Unfortunately not a single paper reported on that, they were so taken... so interested in the eye of the storm that none of them talked about the kind of accountability I have been talking about," she says.