Questions are being asked about Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent and all-round voice of third world unctuousness.
It turns out she’s taken time off from her reporting duties to moderate two events in Montreal today at a highly partisan left-wing gathering known as Global Progress, which she has been tweeting about enthusiastically:
Attendees include Tina Brown; London mayor Sadiq Khan; ex-Labour minister David Miliband; and ex-prime minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, aka Mrs Stephen Kinnock, daughter-in-law of Welsh windbag Neil Kinnock. Ms Schmidt is now the president of Save the Children.
It’s been pointed out that by associating herself with this event, Doucet risks compromising her impartiality. After all, her BBC job requires her to scrutinise objectively all sorts of figures who appear on the world stage.
Another billed to attend is Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., who recently made the sinister declaration that he wants to “fix the internet”.
Today’s love-in is being held at the Ritz Carlton “under the patronage” of Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau.
At 1pm EST Doucet will chair a talk with Tina Brown on Women’s Leadership.
And at 3.30pm EST she will return to the spotlight to chair a dialogue entitled “Shaping Globalization II: New Partnerships for a Fairer World” which explores the current and future challenges that will require new forms of global collaboration.
Speakers at that event include Miliband, Thorning-Schmidt, Philippe Couillard and Ertharin Cousin.
Heat Street has asked the BBC whether Doucet is being paid for chairing these events. If she has signed up with an agency to do so, she could be in breach of the BBC’s own rules, which state:
It is essential that BBC staff, BBC correspondents on non staff contracts and freelances known to the public primarily as presenters or reporters on BBC news or current affairs programmes do not undertake any off-air activities which could undermine the BBC’s reputation for impartiality. Nothing they do or say should bring the BBC into disrepute. No off-air activity, including writing for newspapers, magazines or websites, writing books, giving interviews, making speeches or chairing conferences should lead to any doubt about the objectivity or integrity of their work for the BBC.
Still, let’s look on the bright side. At least viewers of BBC news will be spared a few hours of Doucet today while she’s busy in Montreal.
A BBC spokesman said: “We wouldn’t comment on whether or not staff get paid for external engagements but BBC News presenters are permitted to participate in events like this one and it’s pretty common for them to do so.”