Ex bank deputy Sir David Clementi to be next BBC chairman

Sir David will face MPs next week

Sir David Clementi has been confirmed as the next BBC chairman after Number 10 approval, the government has said.

The ex-Bank of England deputy governor wrote the 2016 report which suggested scrapping the BBC Trust and having the BBC run by a board made up of senior staff and independent members.

Sir David was recommended ahead of two other candidates considered by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley.

BBC Trust chairwoman Rona Fairhead had said she would not apply for the role.

The other candidates were former civil servant Dame Deirdre Hutton and John Makinson, the chair of publishers Penguin Random House.

The new BBC chairman will officially work three days a week and oversee the implementation of the BBC's new charter - the way the BBC is run.

Communications watchdog Ofcom takes over regulation of the BBC's content - a role currently carried out by the BBC Trust - in April.

Analysis

BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan

Sir David Clementi has one big advantage: he really believes in the system of governance he will now be leading.

In March 2016, his independent review of how the BBC is run didn't hold back on recommendations of reform.

Out went the tradition of self-regulation, whereby the BBC fundamentally looked after its own affairs to ensure independence from government. That will now be the responsibility of Ofcom.

Of course, there is no suggestion that Sir David was angling for the job when he suggested it be created. He had a distinguished career in finance.

The BBC's management team currently faces several huge challenges, on which Sir David will need to offer support.

Foremost is funding. The BBC needs to find hundreds of millions in savings now that it is paying for TV licences for over-75s.

In news, the BBC has to innovate to meet the digital demands of a new generation of consumers.

And in entertainment, where it has long been used to being the biggest beast in the jungle, there are new predators such as Netflix and Amazon Prime stalking the undergrowth.

Those will be just the first challenges he faces in a daunting role.