Tory intrusion ‘chilling’ independence of national bodies, critics claim

Trustee by trustee, chair by chair, the government is changing the political tone at the top of Britain’s national bodies, from museums to regulators.

In the last year, Conservative donors and Tory former politicians have been picked to lead organisations including the Health and Safety Executive, the BBC and the Office for Students, which regulates universities.

The latest crop of appointments are whiter and more male than before, but another growing concern is about ministers pushing the boundaries of acceptable norms by using political appointments to cement their party’s positions on issues ranging from the reappraisal of Britain’s colonial past to freedom of speech on university campuses.

At the National Maritime Museum, the trusteeship of a British-Bangladeshi academic who challenged the board to “retell” Britain’s history in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement was not renewed this spring. A Science Museum Group trustee who refused to sign up to the government’s controversial “retain and explain” policy felt she had no choice but to stand down.

Rishi Sunak’s former adviser Richard Sharp, who has donated £400,000 to the Conservative party, is the latest chair of the BBC. At the exam regulator Ofqual, the new chair is Jo Saxton,