By Alasdair Glennie Cronyism row: Former Labour MP James Purnell has hired Godric Smith, a former Balir spin chief, to the BBC The BBC was accused of ‘stuffing its senior ranks with ex-Blairites’ yesterday after it hired one of the former prime minister’s spin chiefs as a key PR adviser. Godric Smith – Tony Blair’s official spokesman between 2001 and 2004 – was handed a contract thought to be worth at least £100,000 by former Labour minister James Purnell, who himself joined the BBC in February. The latest appointment reignited concerns over the corporation’s links with the Left leaving it open to charges of political ‘cronyism’ and prompting one Tory MP to brand the BBC the ‘Blairite Broadcasting Corporation’.
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Godric Smith hired by James Purnell, who recently joined BBC
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Conservative MP says leftist appointments will exacerbate political bias
The deal was signed off by the corporation’s new strategy chief Mr Purnell, a government whip under Mr @placeholder before becoming culture secretary and then work and pensions secretary.