BBC presenter Clive Myrie has apologised for failing to declare at least £145,000 earned from external events, blaming the error on “several administrative issues”. He said he would stop doing paid external events for the “foreseeable future”, except for a handful of pre-existing commitments.
Myrie, who earns at least £310,000 for his BBC news role plus an undisclosed sum for hosting Mastermind, made the apology on X. He wrote: “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.”
The BBC’s external events register, introduced in 2021, requires on-air journalists and senior leaders to declare paid outside work. Retrospective declarations by Myrie go back to 2021, with five events each paying more than £10,000 per appearance. The Sunday Times reported that Myrie had failed to declare work chairing a debate at GreenTalks Live and as a keynote speaker at a dinner hosted by ING bank, both commanding fees over £10,000.
The publication also claimed Myrie failed to report nine other engagements, including as a guest speaker at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce’s Prestige Dinner, as a host at the National Residential Landlords Association’s conference, and as host of an Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association lunch.
The BBC said the register was part of its “commitment to ensure the highest standards of impartiality” and that those who failed to follow the process “have been reminded of their responsibilities”. The corporation added that “robust management action” had been taken, disciplinary action could follow for breaches, and guidelines would be updated to limit the “volume” of paid external events.
