[W. Knight]

All this might have been avoided, had they got a better guidelines three years ago...

Richard Sambrook, a former BBC News executive and emeritus professor of journalism at Cardiff University, was engaged in 2020 to help draw up new social media rules for BBC journalists.

Sources said Sambrook delivered around a dozen recommendations to Davie and senior managers, one of which was to carry out a separate examination of guidance for freelance presenters outside of news.

There is concern that his advice was not fully acted upon because it could have created complications with presenter contracts in a fiercely competitive market for on-screen talent.

Sambrook’s report was never published by the BBC, meaning there is no public record of his findings and recommendations, other than the social media rules introduced following his work.

(Deadline)