Peer of the Week - Lord Birt
Author: Jon Narcross
Published on Sep 13, 2012
Our Peer of the Week series aims to shed some light on the members of the House of Lords who contribute to making laws in the UK. Each week, we’ll look at the chosen Peer’s background, voting and attendance records as well as any controversy associated with their actions, and question whether these really are the best people to be involved in the legislative process.
Who he is:
- Born in Liverpool in 1944, John Birt has worked for Granada and London Weekend Television and was Director General of the BBC between 1992 and 1999
- Birt received a knighthood in 1998 for his contribution to the BBC
- Birt was made a lifelong peer of the House of Lords by Tony Blair in 2000, where he rejected the Labour whip, choosing to sit as a cross-bencher
- Between 2000 and 2005, Birt was a strategic adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair, brought in to make the second half of his premiership should be more radical
Expenses, Voting and Attendance Records:
- Since his appointment in 1998, Lord Birt has voted in the House of Lords 98 times, less than 6% of all possible votes
- In 2011, Lord Birt attended the House of Lords on 61 days, where he voted 5 times and claimed £14,400, tax free, in expenses
- This makes him one of the most expensive peers in the House, costing the taxpayer £2,880 per vote
- During this period, he spoke in 3 debates and submitted 10 written questions
Controversy:
- As a special adviser under Tony Blair, Birt came under criticism for refusing to give evidence to the transport select committee, despite the fact that he had been asked to come up with a long-term transport strategy
- Birt’s knighthood sparked fury amongst the 7,000 workers whose jobs were axed under his directorship of the BBC
- Angela Rippon, a presenter who has worked for the BBC, accused Birt of ageism and sexism after he allegedly told her that at 50 she should “make room for younger women”
- Having emphasised that he would no longer be associated with broadcasting after his departure from the BBC, Lord Birt provoked criticism for his intervention at the Edinburgh Television Festival in 2005 in support of redistributing some of the BBC's licence fee to other broadcasters
- In a scandal that became known as “Armanigate”, it was revealed that after Birt became Director General of the BBC, he continued to be employed as a freelance consultant, allowing him to claim tax benefits for his trademark Armani suits