Top BBC news star Clive Myrie failed to properly declare nearly 30 different external speaking engagements worth at least £150,000, making a mockery of the corporation’s rules on outside earnings.
The true figure could be more like £250,000 as the corporation only reveals the amount of money earned in pay bands.
Myrie, 60, who already earns about £310,000 from the BBC, failed to declare a string of events for which he was paid, stretching back all the way to 2021, when the BBC introduced the rules to protect its impartiality.
Today Myrie said he would not be ‘taking part’ in any more paid external events, as the BBC is now set to introduce tougher rules about the ‘volume’ of ‘paid external events’ that its news stars are allowed to take.
Myrie blamed ‘several administrative issues’ for the large sums of cash that were never declared, adding ‘I didn’t fill out out the correct paperwork for some of my external public events’. He then gave his ‘sincere apologies’ for what had happened.
This comes after news reports had alerted the BBC to the fact that Myrie had fronted events that had not appeared on the register.
The true figure of what he took home from these external events is likely to be far higher than the minimum of about £150,000. One report suggests the figure could be as much as £250,000.
He was paid ‘Over £10k’ for five of these undeclared events. These were for IT company SCC, for Energy and Sustainability Centre Isle of Man, investment service Quilter Cheviot, European bank ING and also for the Association for Insurance and Risk.
Myrie, 60, who already earns about £310,000 from the BBC, failed to declare a string of events for which he was paid, stretching back all the way to 2021, when the BBC introduced the rules to protect its impartiality
Today Myrie said he would not be ‘taking part’ in any more paid external events, as the BBC is now set to introduce tougher rules about the ‘volume’ of ‘paid external events’ that its news stars are allowed to take
They were among a total of 28 events that he failed to declare, of which 19 of then paid between £5,000 and £10,000.
Earlier this year, before the undeclared income came to light, it was revealed that Myrie already earned more money from outside speaking events than any other BBC journalist.
He was said to be pocketing at least £66,000 in the year between July 2023 and June 2024.
Previous analysis by the Mail had also shown that in the first three full years of the external expenses register, between the start of 2021 and the end of 2023, Myrie had earned in excess of £130,000 from this type of work.
The BBC said this morning: ‘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.’
It was forced to reveal the shockingly long list of undeclared events in its latest ‘external events register’ disclosure for the third quarter of 2023.
The BBC explained: ‘A number of engagements that were not submitted to the register in previous quarters have been retrospectively published this quarter.
Earlier this year, before the undeclared income came to light, it was revealed that Myrie already earned more money from outside speaking events than any other BBC journalist
This comes after news reports had alerted the BBC to the fact that Myrie had fronted events that has not appeared on the register
‘Individuals who have failed to follow the correct process have been reminded of their responsibilities with regards to the register.’
Myrie posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, in relation to the payments.
He said: 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.’
Myrie added: ‘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. My sincere apologies. Thanks, Clive.’
In the undeclared events, where he acted in roles such as an ‘interviewer’, ‘speaker’, ‘host’, ‘moderator’ and ‘panel chair’. This work was for clients including American Express, the National Residential Landlords Association and the Football Association.
Myrie was also racking up more external earnings in the three months between July and September that were newly declared this morning.
In July he earned ‘£5k-£10k’ from Cunard and the same again for two jobs in September from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association and the UK Sector Skills Council.