The BBC’s handling of the investigation into Naga Munchetty has led to calls for greater scrutiny of the corporation’s complaints procedure, with some journalists complaining that the policy is designed and enforced by older, white men – who often have to rule on complaints filed by older, white male audiences.
It has also focused attention on the role of David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial policy and standards. He has had a key role behind the scenes shaping and enforcing the corporation’s editorial policies for the past 15 years but is now facing scrutiny over his public account of the investigation into Munchetty.
Jordan edited political programmes for the BBC before switching to work on corporate policy issues in the early 2000s. He is now responsible for overseeing the editorial guidelines, advising BBC programmes on how to comply with them, and overseeing the complaints process.
The long-standing executive came to public prominence during the crisis over the BBC’s handling of allegations against Jimmy Savile. Jordan appeared at parliamentary hearings alongside the short-lived director general George Entwistle, after the corporation’s decision to drop a Newsnight investigation into Savile, which led to Entwistle’s resignation. He made headlines after a public row with Newsnight producer Meirion Jones.
While the rest of the UK broadcast media is regulated by Ofcom, the BBC has managed to retain control of its complaints process. Members of the public who object to BBC content are advised to first write to the corporation and then – if they are unhappy with theresponse – offered the chance to take complaints to the semi-independent executive complaints unit.
The membership of this unit is not public but is understood to be made up of five men and two women. The BBC has previously declined to comment on claims that there is no ethnic minority representation on the committee.
The executive complaints unit discusses its rulings with programme-makers before publishing their rulings. However, the lack of a permanent programme editor at BBC Breakfast has complicated matters in this case.
Although members of the public can take their complaint to Ofcom if unsatisfied with the BBC’s in-house ruling, there is no such right of appeal to an external group for BBC staff and programme-makers who are found to be in breach of the code.