'Naive' Wark on the brink of losing key election anchor role

Key points

• Kirsty Wark's anchor role on Election night in Scotland looks to be no more

BBC top brass appear to be showing displeasure over holiday with Jack McConnell

• But 'friends in high places' may spring to her rescue...

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"The view in the BBC is that she won’t be anchoring our election coverage. But she does have friends in high places, which means we could be wrong" - BBC 'insider'

Story in full KIRSTY Wark’s 18 years as the presenter of General Election coverage in Scotland appeared to be at an end last night after senior BBC insiders said she had made a "huge mistake" by going on holiday with Jack McConnell, the First Minister.

Last night, Wark was scheduled to present BBC2’s flagship Newsnight programme before handing over to Newsnight Scotland, which was to report on the holiday row.

It was clear the awkward situation was becoming too much for many senior executives at the BBC, who said Wark had been wrong to host Mr McConnell and his family over New Year at her holiday home in Majorca.

The former director-general of the BBC, Greg Dyke, described this as a "misjudgment" and a former BBC Scotland executive described Wark as "damaged goods".

Although BBC Scotland’s General Election coverage team has not yet been chosen, it is now thought to be unlikely that Wark will occupy her usual position as the anchor of the late-night results programme, despite her insistence she has done nothing wrong.

A BBC Scotland senior executive said she was being "incredibly naive" to believe the holidays with McConnell and his family - who also spent time at Wark’s Spanish retreat two years ago - did not matter.

"It’s been a huge mistake and it’s a shame what is happening now, but they just shouldn’t be going on holiday together," the source said. "She is a great presenter with a sharp mind but that doesn’t matter. It’s all about people’s perception."

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Another BBC insider agreed with this assessment but said Wark’s network of influential allies might be able to save her from being dropped.

"The view in the BBC is that she won’t be anchoring our election coverage. But she does have friends in high places, which means we could be wrong," the source said.

A former BBC Scotland executive who held a senior position in the corporation said Wark’s choice of holiday companions had been a major mistake that could harm her career.

"Kirsty, especially, seems to be blissfully unaware of the damage this has done to her own credibility, but both her and McConnell seem to believe ‘we are important people so it doesn’t matter’.

"There might not be a conflict but she is in a position where people can say it’s a conflict of interest. If you were an accountant or judge, you would not put your position in doubt.

"I don’t think she could present the next General Election coverage for BBC Scotland, even if she wants to, because she is now damaged goods."

Dyke raised questions about who paid for what on the holiday. He said: "It’s a hard issue. They’ve been friends for a long time. She went on holiday with him before and nobody noticed. Who pays? If she pays for the flights then he’s in trouble. If he pays for his own flights ... I mean it’s not a heinous crime. It’s a misjudgment."

Other BBC presenters appeared reluctant to back or criticise Wark publicly.

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One, who asked not to be named, said: "It strikes me it’s a bit ‘so what?’ This is almost a function of the small community we have in Scotland. We all know each other pretty well.

"I know Jack McConnell pretty well. I wouldn’t choose to have a holiday with him, but ... I don’t think it’s a problem."

At least one prominent figure did jump to Wark’s defence yesterday - but it was her friend and holiday guest, McConnell. "There has never been any question about Kirsty Wark’s impartiality in the 20 or so years that she has been a broadcaster," he said.

"What we have is one family with a son and a daughter staying with another family with a son and a daughter in their house - family friends for nearly 20 years; no question that there was anything wrong or anything has ever influenced either Kirsty Wark or I in our jobs.

"I think it would be a very, very sad day if politicians or broadcasters dropped their friends, dropped families that they were closely associated with just simply because of their positions."

McConnell declined to comment on Wark’s job as General Election anchor, saying it was a matter for the BBC.

It was revealed yesterday that Wark has interviewed McConnell on at least three occasions:

On 10 May, 1999, about tuition fees.

During the 2001 General Election as part of a panel of politicians.

On 9 September, 2004, on smoking.

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In December McConnell commented on the BBC’s decision to cut almost 3,000 jobs as part of a restructuring process that could see more programmes made in Scotland - presumably by production companies such as IWC Media, the merger of Wark’s firm, Wark Clements, with Muriel Gray’s Ideal World Productions.

McConnell said: "This is a great boost for the creative industries in Scotland and we now have an opportunity to retain more talent in Scotland, attract more talent and build a successful television production centre for the future."

The BBC insisted last night that no decision about Wark’s role as election-night anchor had been made and said any "potential conflict of interest" would be dealt with by the General Election programme editor.

This position will not be filled until the election is called but it is likely to be Alasdair MacLeod, the editor of the parliamentary unit in Scotland.

A spokeswoman for Wark said she would not be saying anything further on the matter - to The Scotsman, Newsnight Scotland or anyone else - after earlier this week insisting that her friendship with McConnell or anyone else had "at no point interfered with my ability to do my job in a fair and objective manner".

Meanwhile, the BBC’s Newsnight website contains a response to an apt question from a BBC News Online user that suggested to Wark there was a conflict of interest between the extent of her influence in Scotland and her role as a political journalist.

She replied somewhat coyly: "What is influence and how is it conducted, I don’t know. I don’t take part in public life in Scotland so my influence is of no real worth. I may be deemed or seen as being influential but what I can affect in Scotland I’m not really sure."