Post by QPR Report on Nov 4, 2009 15:24:40 GMT
Guardian - Lord Burns: 'Teflon Terry' who played key role in ban on hunting with dogs Red-hot favourite in race to be named Channel 4 chairman was involved in shaping plans for rival broadcaster BBC's future
John Plunkett and Steve Busfield
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009 15.14 GMT
Article history
Lord Terry Burns: passions include golf and Queens Park Rangers. Photograph: Graham Turner
When Lord Burns chaired the government's inquiry into hunting with dogs, he famously concluded that the practice "seriously compromises the welfare of the fox".
A former Whitehall mandarin, Burns has been chairman of Abbey National, now owned by Spanish banking giant Santander, since February 2002.
He is best known in the media industry for leading then culture secretary Tessa Jowell's review of the BBC's governance, funding and remit in the run up to the renewal of the corporation's 10-year royal charter.
Burns's 2005 report recommended replacing the BBC board of governors with a public service broadcasting commission to advise government on the corporation's funding requirements and decide if licence fee money should be given to other organisations to produce and broadcast public service content.
In the end, then BBC chairman Michael Grade's plan for the governors to be replaced by the BBC Trust was taken up by the government.
However, Burns's proposal for "top-slicing" the licence fee is back on the political agenda with Labour's plan to use licence fee money to help pay for a replacement ITV regional news service and children's programmes on commercial TV.
Burns was also a candidate for BBC chairmanship in 2001 and 2007 and in the running for the top job at Ofcom when it was created in 2003.
In Whitehall circles, the former grammar school boy from the north-east is also known as "Teflon Terry" because of his ability to ride out scandals.
Terry Burns, as he is known to everyone, is described as charming and unflappable, a "down to earth grammar school boy from the north-east" whose passions are "golf and Queens Park Rangers". He was given a life peerage following his exit from Whitehall in 1998.
An "early adopter", he was said to have been one of the first people to have had a home computer, and has tried to make a model analysing the tactics of football teams.
As a former permanent secretary at the Treasury, its chief economic adviser and as professor of economics at the London Business School, Burns was close to the centre of the government's economic policy-making machine for three decades.
Described as a Thatcherite, he was recruited by the then chancellor Geoffrey Howe in 1980 and remained in Whitehall for the next 17 years.
His relationship with five successive Tory chancellors, from Howe to Kenneth Clarke, was rather more cordial than the one he enjoyed with Gordon Brown. The pair were at the centre of a sleaze row when the Daily Mail alleged that the chancellor had twisted Burns's arm into issuing a statement that he had approved the financial affairs of former paymaster general Geoffrey Robinson. Brown described the claim as "fictional nonsense".
However, after his departure from the Treasury, Burns, a close ally of Tony Blair, was put to work by the Labour government behind the scenes in Whitehall and gained a reputation as "Lord Fixit". He was chosen by Jack Straw to chair the inquiry into hunting in 1999 and parachuted into the National Lottery Commission two years later to review the way it awards its licence.
He also led a review of the way the FA, football's governing body, was run in 2004 after it was hit by a string of scandals.
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/04/lord-burns-teflon-terry
Guardian - Lord Burns set to be named Channel 4 chairman
Former permanent secretary to the Treasury could be announced as Luke Johnson's replacement as early as today. By James Robinson and Mark Sweney
Lord Burns set to be named Channel 4 chairmanFormer permanent secretary to the Treasury could be announced as Luke Johnson's replacement as early as today
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James Robinson and Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009
Lord Burns, the former permanent secretary to the Treasury, is set to replace Luke Johnson as Channel 4 chairman, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
Media regulator Ofcom is expected to announce the new Channel 4 chairman this week, possibly as early as today. Burns, whose nickname is "Lord Fixit", is understood to be the favourite to take the job in government circles.
Other contenders for the post have included Richard Eyre, a former chief executive of ITV, and Lord Alli, the Labour peer and co-founder of production company Planet 24.
It is thought that Ofcom wanted to appoint a woman to the post, but a series of high-profile female candidates, including Dianne Thompson, the chief executive of lottery operator Camelot, have quietly ruled themselves out of the running.
Ofcom declined to comment.
Burns has been chairman of Abbey National, now owned by Spanish banking giant Santander, since February 2002.
He is best known in the media industry for leading a review of the BBC's role for former culture secretary Tessa Jowell in the runup to the renewal of the corporation's 10-year royal charter in late 2006.
Burns was regarded as a heavyweight candidate for the top job at Ofcom when it was created in 2003 and was also in the running for the chairmanship of the BBC in 2001, when Sir Christopher Bland stood down. The job went to Gavyn Davies.
He also chaired the government's inquiry into hunting with dogs, memorably concluding that the practice "seriously compromises the welfare of the fox".
Burns has also been chairman of the National Lottery Commission, which licenses and regulates the lottery; and led a review of the way the FA, football's governing body, was run in 2004 after it was hit by a string of scandals.
In Whitehall circles, the former grammar school boy from the north-east is also known as "Teflon Terry" because of his ability to ride out scandals.
If he is appointed at Channel 4, he will face a series of strategic challenges, including how to engineer a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm. That is crucial to securing the broadcaster's future after its plea for public money was rejected by government.
Burns's first major task will be choosing the next chief executive, after Andy Duncan leaves before the end of the year.
The new management team are also likely to have to deal with a Conservative government that has promised to crack down on Channel 4 and BBC executive salaries if the Tories win the election next year, as seems likely.
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/04/lord-burns-channel-4
John Plunkett and Steve Busfield
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009 15.14 GMT
Article history
Lord Terry Burns: passions include golf and Queens Park Rangers. Photograph: Graham Turner
When Lord Burns chaired the government's inquiry into hunting with dogs, he famously concluded that the practice "seriously compromises the welfare of the fox".
A former Whitehall mandarin, Burns has been chairman of Abbey National, now owned by Spanish banking giant Santander, since February 2002.
He is best known in the media industry for leading then culture secretary Tessa Jowell's review of the BBC's governance, funding and remit in the run up to the renewal of the corporation's 10-year royal charter.
Burns's 2005 report recommended replacing the BBC board of governors with a public service broadcasting commission to advise government on the corporation's funding requirements and decide if licence fee money should be given to other organisations to produce and broadcast public service content.
In the end, then BBC chairman Michael Grade's plan for the governors to be replaced by the BBC Trust was taken up by the government.
However, Burns's proposal for "top-slicing" the licence fee is back on the political agenda with Labour's plan to use licence fee money to help pay for a replacement ITV regional news service and children's programmes on commercial TV.
Burns was also a candidate for BBC chairmanship in 2001 and 2007 and in the running for the top job at Ofcom when it was created in 2003.
In Whitehall circles, the former grammar school boy from the north-east is also known as "Teflon Terry" because of his ability to ride out scandals.
Terry Burns, as he is known to everyone, is described as charming and unflappable, a "down to earth grammar school boy from the north-east" whose passions are "golf and Queens Park Rangers". He was given a life peerage following his exit from Whitehall in 1998.
An "early adopter", he was said to have been one of the first people to have had a home computer, and has tried to make a model analysing the tactics of football teams.
As a former permanent secretary at the Treasury, its chief economic adviser and as professor of economics at the London Business School, Burns was close to the centre of the government's economic policy-making machine for three decades.
Described as a Thatcherite, he was recruited by the then chancellor Geoffrey Howe in 1980 and remained in Whitehall for the next 17 years.
His relationship with five successive Tory chancellors, from Howe to Kenneth Clarke, was rather more cordial than the one he enjoyed with Gordon Brown. The pair were at the centre of a sleaze row when the Daily Mail alleged that the chancellor had twisted Burns's arm into issuing a statement that he had approved the financial affairs of former paymaster general Geoffrey Robinson. Brown described the claim as "fictional nonsense".
However, after his departure from the Treasury, Burns, a close ally of Tony Blair, was put to work by the Labour government behind the scenes in Whitehall and gained a reputation as "Lord Fixit". He was chosen by Jack Straw to chair the inquiry into hunting in 1999 and parachuted into the National Lottery Commission two years later to review the way it awards its licence.
He also led a review of the way the FA, football's governing body, was run in 2004 after it was hit by a string of scandals.
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/04/lord-burns-teflon-terry
Guardian - Lord Burns set to be named Channel 4 chairman
Former permanent secretary to the Treasury could be announced as Luke Johnson's replacement as early as today. By James Robinson and Mark Sweney
Lord Burns set to be named Channel 4 chairmanFormer permanent secretary to the Treasury could be announced as Luke Johnson's replacement as early as today
Comments (…)
Buzz up!
Digg it
James Robinson and Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009
Lord Burns, the former permanent secretary to the Treasury, is set to replace Luke Johnson as Channel 4 chairman, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
Media regulator Ofcom is expected to announce the new Channel 4 chairman this week, possibly as early as today. Burns, whose nickname is "Lord Fixit", is understood to be the favourite to take the job in government circles.
Other contenders for the post have included Richard Eyre, a former chief executive of ITV, and Lord Alli, the Labour peer and co-founder of production company Planet 24.
It is thought that Ofcom wanted to appoint a woman to the post, but a series of high-profile female candidates, including Dianne Thompson, the chief executive of lottery operator Camelot, have quietly ruled themselves out of the running.
Ofcom declined to comment.
Burns has been chairman of Abbey National, now owned by Spanish banking giant Santander, since February 2002.
He is best known in the media industry for leading a review of the BBC's role for former culture secretary Tessa Jowell in the runup to the renewal of the corporation's 10-year royal charter in late 2006.
Burns was regarded as a heavyweight candidate for the top job at Ofcom when it was created in 2003 and was also in the running for the chairmanship of the BBC in 2001, when Sir Christopher Bland stood down. The job went to Gavyn Davies.
He also chaired the government's inquiry into hunting with dogs, memorably concluding that the practice "seriously compromises the welfare of the fox".
Burns has also been chairman of the National Lottery Commission, which licenses and regulates the lottery; and led a review of the way the FA, football's governing body, was run in 2004 after it was hit by a string of scandals.
In Whitehall circles, the former grammar school boy from the north-east is also known as "Teflon Terry" because of his ability to ride out scandals.
If he is appointed at Channel 4, he will face a series of strategic challenges, including how to engineer a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm. That is crucial to securing the broadcaster's future after its plea for public money was rejected by government.
Burns's first major task will be choosing the next chief executive, after Andy Duncan leaves before the end of the year.
The new management team are also likely to have to deal with a Conservative government that has promised to crack down on Channel 4 and BBC executive salaries if the Tories win the election next year, as seems likely.
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/04/lord-burns-channel-4
