BBC world affairs editor John Simpson has scrapped plans to run a corporate consultancy business after the corporation said it would breach editorial guidelines.
On Friday, Mail Online reported that Simpson’s personal website was advertising the services of consultancy Simpson Associates, which promised to use the journalist’s “extensive network” of contacts to “respond seamlessly to our clients’ needs”. The article quoted an unnamed BBC journalist describing the work as an “appalling breach of editorial policy guidelines”.
Simpson did not deny the existence of the website, but said he had not seen or approved its content, which he said had been made public in error.
Simpson said: “The supposed facts in the Mail’s article are ludicrously inaccurate. I didn’t write or see the entries on my website, which was a work in progress, and wasn’t meant to go public. The idea that I am earning £800,000 a year is a wild fantasy.
“Two years ago I was given a new agreement which restricted me to 125 days a year with a commensurately deep cut in salary. I was given permission to work for any other organisation as long as it didn’t contravene the BBC’s guidelines, and I received an assurance that I could work for as long as I wanted. Throughout my long career I’ve never once transgressed the BBC’s guidelines.”
Though the consultancy service outlined on the site were not necessarily representative of Simpson’s plans, the BBC said he had agreed not to go ahead with the business.
A spokeswoman said: “This would have been considered commercial work that is not compatible with BBC editorial guidelines or John’s role at the BBC as such John agrees he won’t be taking these activities forward.”
The site, which advertised services in areas such as media relations and crisis management, was taken offline on Friday. Caches of the page show it was publicly available as long ago as 18 April. Simpson’s Twitter account also retweeted a link to the site on Thursday with the comment “I like my shiny new website”, but the account is thought to be managed by someone else on behalf of Simpson.
Simpson’s agent and sister in law Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne claimed the description of Simpson Associates was written by an independent developer. She did not respond to questions about why the site had been up so long without Simpson’s approval.
Describing the services that were available from Simpson Associates, the site said: “For over 50 years John Simpson has been at the heart of breaking news all over the world. During that time he has built up an enviable network of international experts in the world of finance, commerce, risk management and assessment, communications and even couvert operations.”
“This exclusive international resource enables Simpson Associates to respond seamlessly to our clients’ needs, wherever they are in the world.”
The site also boasted of “a core network of crisis experts at our disposal” and “a global team of expert advisers that include former senior editors and correspondents”.
It continued: “We engage in strategic media outreach to assist clients in reaching their business goals: from broadening awareness, to positioning for a strategic shift, or laying the groundwork for corporate activity.”
