The BBC Trust has defended its chairwoman Rona Fairhead after it emerged that she was paid £513,000 by the scandal-hit bank HSBC last year.
The corporation’s governing body insisted that Fairhead has had “absolutely no discussions” with BBC journalists about its coverage of HSBC, where she has been a non-executive director since 2004.
Fairhead, who was also chair of HSBC’s audit committee at the time covered by the leaked HSBC files, has declined to respond to questions about how much she knew about activities at the bank’s Swiss subsidiary.
HSBC’s annual report, released last week, shows that Fairhead was paid a total of £513,000 by the bank last year.
The remuneration includes £334,000 for being non-executive chair of HSBC North America Holding and a further £19,000 of benefits, including travel expenses for attending meetings. She also owns about £436,000 worth of shares in the bank.
Fairhead is no longer chair of HSBC’s audit committee but continues to juggle a role at HSBC with her BBC duties, currently serving as chair of the bank’s North American division.
The BBC Trust said: “Rona Fairhead has made absolutely clear that she prioritises her role as chairman of the BBC Trust and her other roles do not present any conflict of interest.
“The BBC Trust has no involvement in day to day editorial decisions, including individual news stories, and Rona has not had any discussions with the BBC - the executive or editorial - regarding HSBC coverage.”
