Andrew Marr accuses Tory government of ‘sleazy’ behaviour

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Mr Marr, a former BBC political editor, who fronted the agenda-setting, ‘The Andrew Marr Show’ on Sunday mornings, announced his departure in a Twitter post. He wrote: “Personal announcement. After 21 years, I have decided to move on from the BBC. “l leave behind many happy memories and wonderful colleagues.

“But from the New Year I am moving to Global to write and present political and cultural shows, and to write for newspapers.”

He added: “I think British politics and public life are going to go through an even more turbulent decade, and as I’ve said, I am keen to get my own voice back.

“I have been doing The Andrew Marr Show every Sunday morning for 16 years now and that is probably more than enough time for anybody!”

The journalist had previously hinted at an imminent departure from the broadcaster after suggesting “people like me” will find it “very difficult to carry on being neutral” in their politics in the near future.

Last year, he said he found the impartiality requirements at the BBC “very frustrating” but insisted he did still “really believe” in its work.

However, he went further during an interview at Aye Write, Glasgow’s book festival, in May of this year.

Asked by his interviewer, the journalist Ruth Wishart, whether he ever felt “a desperate urge to come out of the closet” over his political views, Mr Marr replied: “Yes, absolutely.”

While he refused to elaborate on his personal politics — “I cannot tell you now because I will lose my job” — he conceded: “There are many privileges of working at the BBC, including the size of the audience and all of that, but the biggest single frustration by far is losing your own voice, not being able to speak in your own voice.”

He went on to argue that the political climate of the future will be much more “turbulent” than today, suggesting that people in his career tradition will find it near impossible to maintain their neutrality.

Mr Marr continued: “What I could say safely is that I think we are going to go through a period of politics ‒the next ten or 20 years ‒ much more turbulent and much more interesting and testing and challenging than anything we have seen in the last ten years, which have been big enough.

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“I think it will be very, very hard for people like me to carry on being completely neutral and completely sotto voce all the way through that.

“At some point, I want to get out and use my own voice again.

“How and when, I have no idea.”

His comments throw the future of the BBC into serious doubt.

The corporation prides itself on remaining impartial — one of the key tenets of its existence and position as a public broadcaster.

Its strict editorial guidelines enshrine impartiality under section 4, and state that: “The BBC is committed to achieving due impartiality in all its output.

“This commitment is fundamental to our reputation, our values and the trust of audiences.

“The term ‘due’ means that the impartiality must be adequate and appropriate to the output, taking account of the subject and nature of the content, the likely audience expectation and any signposting that may influence that expectation.”

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It goes on to note that “balance” includes being “inclusive” and conveying the “broad perspective” of society and the context of the situation.

In recent years, the BBC has struggled with a torrent of accusations of bias.

This included during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign and the lead up to the 2019 General Election.

It is often accused of batting for the other side by both the left and the right.

Mr Marr’s exit also comes at a time when the BBC is going through a period of transition under a new director general, Tim Davie.

In October, Mr Davie made his second major impartiality intervention since taking over in 2020, as a review was set up in the wake of the Martin Bashir scandal.

He produced a ten-point plan “focused on impartiality, editorial standards and whistleblowing”.

It means that the BBC will now regularly examine its TV content, including documentaries, factual and children’s, to make sure shows are meeting impartiality standards and reflecting a range of viewpoints.

This is especially important given that the BBC is publicly funded through the licence fee.

The licence fee has been a great source of contention for the corporation, with many claiming it is set for terminal decline as “more will refuse to pay”.

John Whittingdale, the Minister for Media and Data, this year said he expected payments of the licence fee to decline each year.

He told the Edinburgh TV Festival: “I think it inevitable that certain trends which are now clearly visible will continue. One is the switch away from linear viewing. The second is, in the longer term, the decline in willingness to pay the BBC’s licence fee.

“And those are going to put real challenges on all the UK public service broadcasters. So the debate about how to sustain public service broadcasting is only just beginning.”

The licence fee model is guaranteed until the end of the current Charter period in 2027, but the Government has made no secret of its desire to seriously reform it.

Meanwhile, Mr Marr will now be presenting shows on LBC and Classic FM, as well as a new weekly podcast on Global Player.

He will also write a regular column for the LBC website.

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