Yes Director General

This is interesting, and seems a little reminiscent of Yes Minister (and comes courtesy of Alan at Biased BBC and The Sunday Times, behind its paywall)...

Godric Smith CBE worked at Downing Street from 1996-2006, acting as Tony Blair's Official Spokesman between 2000 and 2004. He worked on London 2012 for seven years as Director of Communications for the Olympic Delivery Authority and as Director of Government Communications for London 2012. He was appointed a Non-Executive Director of HS2 in June 2012, and is also a Non Executive Director at The Cambridge Junction art centre. In September 2012 Francis Maude made him interim Executive Director of Government Communications at Cabinet Office, a position he held for three months. 

According to Brand Republic, the BBC's Panorama revealed him to be one of the highest earning public sector communications people. 

Brand Republic also says, "He is credited with steering Number 10 through the Hutton Inquiry." 

Now, apparently, the BBC [update - specifically the corporation's Head of Strategy, former Labour minister James Purnell], has asked Godric Smith's PR company,  Inc (Incorporated London Ltd) - a company he co-founded in April this year along with former Eurostar Marketing Director Greg Nugent -, to 'help rebuild its reputation in the wake of the Savile scandal'. According to The Sunday Times, the BBC has done so without tender.

Sir Humphrey Appleby and Sir Desmond Glazebrook would doubtless have approved.

I'm not sure that either Antony Jay or Jonathan Lynn could have written so deliciously ironic a storyline as this one seems to be though. Having the BBC hire a key player in the Blair government's PR team at the time of the BBC-blaming Hutton Inquiry in order to help the BBC try to repair its reputation in the wake of the Savile scandal - and, if the Sunday Times is correct, doing so without tender - might have struck audiences at the time as being a bit too far-fetched. 

Still, maybe Mr Smith is the right man for the job and the criticism of him undeserved. 

That's certainly the view of Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch, who has tweeted this in response to criticism of Mr Smith's appointment:

Criticism of Godric Smith's Beeb appt is misplaced. He worked for Blair but as a civil servant - a competent, experienced and honest one.

My point is that criticism of GS for simply having worked for Blair is nonsense. I know him to be honest and highly competent.

Changing the subject completely then, there's a wonderful episode of Yes Minister called Jobs for the Boys which contains the following priceless lines:

Sir Desmond: "So it all boils down to the Industry Co-partnership Committee. Still, I find that quite acceptable."

Sir Humphrey: "Well, it is within the gift of my Minister, and you would only put in appearances once or twice a month."

Sir Desmond: "Are there lots of papers?"

Sir Humphrey: "Yes, but it wouldn't be awfully necessary to read them."

Sir Desmond: "Then I wouldn't have anything to say at the monthly meetings."

Sir Humphrey: "Splendid, I can see you're just the chap I'm looking for."

Sir Humphrey: "It takes two to quango, Minister."

Sir Humphrey: "Bernard, Ministers should never know more than they need to know. Then they can't tell anyone. Like secret agents, they could be captured and tortured."

Bernard: "You mean by terrorists?"

Sir Humphrey: "By the BBC, Bernard."