Veteran newsreader Clive Myrie has apologised after he admitted to failing to declare his earnings made outside of the BBC.
The 60-year-old is said to have earned at least £65,000 from corporate events outside of his role as a broadcaster at the BBC, in which he earns £310,000 as well as an undisclosed amount from his work presenting quiz show Mastermind.
In a bid for the corporation to become more transparent, BBC director-general Tim Davie requested on-screen talent declare their outside earnings every three months.
However, Myrie has now apologised as he admitted he did not declare several events on the BBC’s external events register at the time.
He wrote on X: “An apology - I’ve had several administrative issues, and I didn’t fill out the correct paperwork for some of my external public events, so they haven’t been published until now.
“I’ve told the BBC I won’t be taking part in any more paid external events in the foreseeable future, beyond a handful of pre-existing commitments, so that this doesn’t happen again. By sincere apologies. Thanks, Clive.”
An apology – I’ve had several administrative issues, and I didn’t fill out the correct paperwork for some of my external public events, so they haven’t been published until now. 1/2
— Clive Myrie (@CliveMyrieBBC) December 4, 2024
Clive’s failure to declare his earnings were first reported in October by The Sunday Times, which claimed his biggest undeclared event was a speaking role at a Views From the Top dinner, hosted by Dutch investment bank ING, at the Gherkin in London, for which he is said to have earned in excess of £10,000.
Other commitments included various speaking engagements for which he charged between £5,000 and £10,000. These include a conference for the National Residential Landlords Association last October, a dinner for Suffolk chamber of commerce in September last year, and the annual conference for the Coventry and Warwickshire chamber of commerce in November 2023.
He was also paid an additional £5,000 to £10,000 for attending an event for Anthology Together, an education technology company.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “The External Events Register forms part of the BBC’s commitment to ensure the highest standards of impartiality across the organisation. Individuals who have failed to follow the correct process have been reminded of their responsibilities with regards to the register.
“Where significant non-compliance has occurred, robust management action has been taken. We will be publishing an update to our current guidelines to add specific language around the volume of paid external events individuals will be permitted to undertake.”
Following Clive’s public apology on Wednesday, social media users shared their support, with one writing: “We all make mistakes Clive. You’re a joy to watch and your books are all thrilling reads. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
