Opera chief Tony Hall recruited as BBC new Director-General

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Royal Opera House chief executive and the BBC’s former director of news and current affairs from 1996 to 2001, Tony Hall has been recruited as the corporation’s new director-general.

BBC Trust chairman, Lord Patten said Lord Hall was “the right person to lead the BBC out of its current crisis”.

Lord Hall will replace George Entwistle, who resigned earlier this month after serving the corporation just for 54 days.

Mr. Entwistle quit on 10 November after BBC faced the crisis on a Newsnight report that led to Lord McAlpine being wrongly connected to a child abuse scandal.

Public trust in the BBC is said to have been knocked by the controversy and a number of inquiries are in the process into the fallout from the Savile problems.

Lord Hall is expected to start his new role in early March, and the BBC said in the interim period Tim Davie will remain as Acting Director-General.

Lord Hall will be paid £450,000 in the role – the salary at the same level as of his predecessor – and his appointment was unanimously agreed by Trustees this morning.

Lord Hall has confirmed accepting Lord Patten’s offer to become Director General and said: “This organisation is an incredibly important part of what makes the United Kingdom what it is. And of course it matters not just to people in this country – but to tens of millions around the world too.

“It’s been a difficult few weeks – but together we’ll get through it.

“I’m committed to ensuring our news services are the best in the world.”

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