Who is Sir Robbie Gibb and why are there calls to get him off BBC board?

After the exit of two BBC bosses, the spotlight is on the future of a third: non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb.

The BBC's director-general Tim Davie and chief executive Deborah Turness resigned amid concerns about the BBC's impartiality, including how a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama last year.

There have been calls for Sir Robbie to go as well, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey saying he should have "no role in appointing the new director general".

So who is Sir Robbie, what controversy has he faced - and who else is on the BBC board?

What is Robbie Gibb's background and role at the BBC?

Sir Robbie, 61, has a long history with the BBC, having been BBC News' head of BBC Westminster and editor of live political programmes, as well as deputy editor of BBC Two's Newsnight.

He left BBC News in 2017 to become then prime minister Theresa May's director of communications, a post he held until 2019.

He was appointed to the BBC board in 2021 by Boris Johnson. In his role as non-executive director, he is responsible for "upholding and protecting the independence of the BBC by acting in the public interest and exercising independent judgement", according to the BBC's website.

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He is also a senior communications adviser at Kekst CNC, a leading global strategic communications consultancy, and was a director at the Jewish Chronicle newspaper until last year.

Sir Robbie was knighted in 2019, having been included on Mrs May's resignation honours list "for political and public service".

Why is he controversial?

There was backlash to his appointment to the BBC's board in 2021, as critics felt his political ties to the Conservatives made him inappropriate for the role.

In July 2021, then Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner wrote to BBC director general Tim Davie demanding Sir Robbie be removed from his position after he tried to block Jess Brammar, former HuffPost UK editor and Newsnight journalist, from becoming the BBC's executive news editor due to her political views.

Criticism has reignited this week, with Scotland's First Minister John Swinney saying his position "fuels that doubt and debate about the independence and the impartiality of the BBC".

The Guardian has reported that sources told the publication Sir Robbie had "led the charge" against Mr Davie, helping force his resignation through a 'coup'.

A friend of Sir Robbie's suggested to Deadline that the coup theory was "absolute nonsense".

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Speaking to LBC on Monday, Mr Swinney said: "Robbie Gibb is a very clearly affiliated party-political figure on the board of the BBC.

"If the BBC wants to be viewed as an impartial organisation that's authoritative, that reflects the independence of commentary, then I think Robbie Gibb's position is untenable."

Sir Ed called for his resignation in an article for the Guardian and also wrote on social media: "We must defend its [the BBC's] independence, end political appointments, and remove Robbie Gibb from the Board."

Who else is on the BBC's board?

The board is responsible for upholding and protecting the independence of the BBC and ensuring its decisions are in the public interest.

Four of the non-executive members are specifically appointed as members for each of the nations of the UK. They and the chairman are appointed by the King on the recommendation of ministers, while the other members are appointed by the BBC through the Board's Nominations and Governance committee.

Here are its members and positions, excluding the vacant director-general role left by Mr Davie:

• Samir Shah - BBC chair
• Shumeet Banerji - non-executive director
• Damon Buffini - deputy chair; chair, BBC Commercial Board
• Robbie Gibb - member for England
• Muriel Gray - Member for Scotland
• Chris Jones - non-executive director
• Michael Plaut - member for Wales
• Michael Smyth - member for Northern Ireland
• Marinella Soldi - non-executive director
• Leigh Tavaziva - chief operating officer
• Caroline Thomson - senior independent director