Clive Myrie apologises for not declaring £145k earnings to BBC

Presenter Clive Myrie has apologised for failing to declare to the BBC at least £145,000 of earnings from engagements outside of the corporation.

Under BBC rules, presenters must reveal what they earn on an external events register, which is published by the corporation every quarter.

The latest quarterly register also includes 28 engagements carried out by Myrie which he had not previously declared, going back as far as 2021.

Myrie has said he had not filled out the correct paperwork due to "administrative issues", and that he would not be taking part in any further paid external events beyond a handful he had already committed to.

Writing on X, Myrie 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."

"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," he added.

Myrie's retrospective declarations go back as far as March 2021 and include roles as a moderator, host, speaker, contributor and panel chair.

In five of those cases, the newsreader was paid more than £10,000 for each event.

Eighteen events listed his fee as between £5,000 and £10,000, and five were listed as earning him between £1,000 and £5,000.

Myrie has declared engagements in previous quarterly registers, but the ones which appear in the latest batch are retrospective and were not declared in the quarters they were carried out.

Two other BBC presenters have also declared retrospective earnings on the latest register.

Lucy Hockings earned at least £5,000 for one job as a moderator, and Jonny Dymond earned at least £1,000 for two engagements as a host and interviewer.

On-air staff in journalism and senior leadership roles have been required to declare their external earnings since 2021.

A BBC spokesman 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. Clive has apologised for his errors and will not be taking part in paid external events for the foreseeable future.

“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. As the current guidelines set out, breaches of the process can lead to disciplinary action.”