Manager says she 'lost trust' in sacked presenter

Jack Murley, from Bodmin, was sacked as a presenter with BBC Radio Cornwall in 2024

A BBC manager has said she "lost trust" in a former presenter when his views from social media "spilled on air".

Jack Murley, from Bodmin, was sacked as a presenter with BBC Radio Cornwall in 2023 for breaching BBC guidelines.

Emma Clements, Mr Murley's manager from 2020, said he had lost her trust and she "became worried about his content on air".

At a tribunal in Exeter, he denied doing anything wrong and said he believed he was discriminated against for being gay and being a union representative.

The BBC Radio Cornwall executive editor said: “When you join the BBC you agree to the social media guidelines and that does restrict what you can put on social media.”

From 2022, Mr Murley, who was an NUJ representative, began expressing his views on the organisation's Local Value For All project, which involved changes to BBC local radio.

Mr Murley also shared his views on a segment in his radio programme, called "Loosest Goose".

In an episode on 25 June 2023 he referenced the changes at the BBC and spoke about BBC managers by name.

The satirical segment often contained innuendos and Nick Toms, representing the claimant, said his client's content "was a joke".

Ms Clements said: “If you think that people being put at risk of redundancy is a joke, but I don’t agree with that.”

She said when she heard it “alarm bells started ringing".

'Crush the voice of the staff'

On 30 June Mr Murley was informed that he had been removed from his BBC duties by Stephanie Marshall, Senior Head of Content Production, for the West and South West.

Speaking at the tribunal, she said after she heard the radio content, which aired on a Sunday afternoon: "I actually couldn’t believe what I had heard."

“I didn’t trust him,” Ms Marshall said.

In her witness statement she said Mr Murley “often used inappropriate language, was disrespectful to others online, and failed to provide an impartial commentary on issues".

Mr Toms highlighted one of Mr Murley's posts from X, which the BBC gave as evidence because of the sexual content.

Mr Murley told the tribunal on Tuesday his exchanges on social media were his way of standing up for himself in the face of homophobic comments he received.

Ms Marshall said she felt the post "crossed a line if I'm honest".

On his posts around changes at the BBC, she said "we have to be truly impartial, it's not optional".

Mr Toms accused her of "trying to crush the voice of the staff".

An accusation which Ms Marshall denied and said Mr Murley's posts lacked "balance".

Mr Toms accused her and other BBC managers of "trying to make an example" of Mr Murley.

Ms Marshall said: "It couldn't be further from the truth."

"If audiences don't trust us [the BBC] and we are not being impartial, then we don't exist," she added.

The tribunal continues.