'I thought I was in the right' says sacked presenter

Jack Murley, from Bodmin, worked with BBC Radio Cornwall from 2019 until 2024

"If managers spoke to me, I would have taken that on board" a former BBC radio presenter has told an employment tribunal.

Jack Murley, from Bodmin, worked with BBC Radio Cornwall from 2019 until 2024, when he was sacked by the corporation.

A hearing in Exeter has heard how Mr Murley was dismissed for breaching the BBC's editorial and social media guidelines. He is seeking more than £48,000 in compensation.

The former presenter explained at the hearing: "I thought I was in the right".

Mr Murley said he "believed he was acting within the guidelines" and would have been willing to make changes or "undertake training" if concerns had been raised.

From 2022 Mr Murley openly offered his views on social media about the BBC's Local Value For All project, which involved changes to local radio stations and newsrooms, across England.

He was taken off air on 30 June 2023 following a heated conversation with his manager, when they discussed his use of social media.

Questions were also raised about content in Mr Murley's Loosest Goose radio feature, a satirical segment that included innuendo and was said to breech BBC guidelines.

Tomos Livingstone, a Senior News Editor at BBC Wales, was the hearing manager for the disciplinary proceedings brought against Mr Murley.

He described the Loosest Goose as "awful" and told the hearing it was something that "shouldn't be broadcast on radio Cornwall at midday on a Sunday".

He said it was "deeply inappropriate" and "well beyond innuendo".

On the social media use, Mr Livingstone said the posts were considered in the same way as a broadcast and Mr Murley "should have had the knowledge and experience to be compliant with the guidelines".

He told the tribunal it had been a "clear and straightforward decision" to consider the case as "gross misconduct" and it was felt that Mr Murley had been too great a "risk" to the corporation.

His disciplinary case was sent to appeal and Adam Smyth, Director of BBC Northern Ireland, was the hearing manager.

He told the tribunal Mr Murley was "effectively working off grid" and had not accepted that he had breached the guidelines.

He upheld the disciplinary decision saying, "we have to be sure that our presenters are trustworthy".

'I loved the BBC'

Mr Murley claimed he had provided "multiple examples" of managers endorsing the innuendo in Loosest Goose.

Based on this he questioned how he was supposed to know that it breached the guidelines.

He said after 13 years with the corporation it was not "reasonable" to go immediately from no previous causes for concern to "summary dismissal".

He told the hearing: "I think there was a way back, I wanted to stay at the BBC, I loved the BBC."

The tribunal continues.