Robbie Gibb

Sir
Robbie Gibb
Downing Street Director of Communications
In office
6 July 2017 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byKatie Perrior
Succeeded byLee Cain
Personal details
Born
Robert Paul Gibb

September 1964 (age 60)
NationalityBritish
SpouseLiz
RelationsNick Gibb (brother)
Children2
Alma materRoyal Holloway, University of London
Occupation
  • Public relations professional
  • political advisor
  • broadcast journalist

Sir Robert Paul Gibb (born September 1964), known as Robbie Gibb, is a British public relations professional and former political advisor and broadcast journalist.

He is the brother of Nick Gibb, the former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. After graduating from Royal Holloway, University of London, he pursued a career as a journalist with his first role as a political researcher at the BBC. He then became chief of staff for Conservative MP Francis Maude in the late 1990s. Gibb returned to the BBC in 2002 as the deputy political editor of Newsnight and went on to edit various television programmes including Daily Politics, The Andrew Marr Show, and This Week.

Gibb was Prime Minister Theresa May's Downing Street Director of Communications between 2017 and 2019. Gibb then became a senior advisor for the public relations consultancy Kekst CNC. He joined the BBC Board as a non-executive director in 2021.

Early life and education

Robert Paul Gibb was born in September 1964.[1][2] He grew up in the West Yorkshire cities of Leeds and Wakefield. Gibb studied Economics and Public Administration at Royal Holloway, University of London.[3] In his youth, Gibb and his brother Nick were recruited and trained by the National Alliance of Russian Solidarists, a right-wing Russian anticommunist organisation. They acted as "couriers" and pretended to be tourists in Moscow in order to smuggle letters from dissidents out of Russia.[4]

Career

After graduation, Gibb joined the BBC as a political researcher including for the television programme On the Record. He left this role, soon after his brother Nick had been elected as Conservative MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, to become Conservative MP and shadow chancellor Francis Maude's chief of staff.[5] He served in this role until 2000.[6] Gibb then joined Maude in supporting Michael Portillo's unsuccessful campaign to become leader in the 2001 Conservative Party leadership election.[3]

He returned to the BBC in 2002 as deputy editor of the news and current affairs television programme Newsnight. Gibb left this role to become the organisation's political editor for various programmes including Daily Politics, The Andrew Marr Show, and This Week as well coverage of the Budget.[7][8] He was also editor of live political events including The Great Debate during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.[9] Gibb is a prominent supporter of Brexit.[10]

In 2017, Gibb returned to politics by becoming Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May's Downing Street Director of Communications.[7] He was succeeded by Lee Cain after Boris Johnson became prime minister in 2019.[11]

He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in May's resignation honours on 10 September 2019 for political and public service.[12] Gibb then became a senior advisor for global strategic communications consultancy Kekst CNC which is part of the French public relations firm Publicis Groupe.[13]

In 2020, he led a successful consortium bid to buy The Jewish Chronicle. The consortium's bid was backed by journalist Sir William Shawcross, former Labour MP John Woodcock, and journalist John Ware.[14] Gibb has refused to say who funded the consortium bid, believed to be around £3.5 million. In his declaration of interest on the BBC website, Gibb stated that he owned a 100 per cent holding in Jewish Chronicle Media.[15] Alan Rusbridger, writing in The Independent, made the point that, "the BBC board’s own website commits them to 'submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office'. They should restrict information 'only when the wider public interest clearly demands'." Rusbridger continued by saying that Gibb had "flatly ignored my questions about his role as the sole named director of the JC. Nor will he tell anyone whose money is behind the paper he 'owns'".[15] According to former Chronicle journalist Lee Harpin, Gibb made a habit of popping into the office and checking what stories were topping the news list; Harpin was told the new owners wanted more views "well to the right of the Tory party".[16] According to Harpin, Gibb interviewed candidates for a senior editor position and appointed Jake Wallis Simons.[16]

Gibb departed as a director the Chronicle on August 20, 2024, passing ownership to Jonathan Kandel, a fellow consortium member, and the ex-Labour peer Lord Austin of Dudley.[17] The people ultimately responsible for the company’s debts remained unknown.[17] Gibb retained sole directorship of "The JC Media and Culture Preservation Initiative", a community interest company sharing a correspondence address with The Jewish Chronicle.[16]

Gibb described himself as a "Thatcherite Conservative".[18][19] He was an editorial advisor for GB News prior to its launch in 2021.[20] Gibb also advised the government in 2021 on the publication of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report.[21]

Gibb joined the BBC Board in May 2021 as the Member for England for a three-year term.[22] His appointment was supported by Conservative Party political advisor Dougie Smith, who according to journalist Tim Shipman, "pressed for months" for him to become part of the Board. Smith and Gibb are close friends since their time as members of the Federation of Conservative Students.[18] He is known as a "right-of-centre voice" on the board.[23] According to the Financial Times, he reportedly attempted to block Jess Brammar's appointment as BBC executive news editor in July 2021. He had allegedly sent a text message to Director, News & Current Affairs Fran Unsworth that urged her not to "make this appointment" as it would shatter the government's "fragile trust in the BBC". A source close to Gibb denied that he sent the message.[10] Deputy Labour Party Leader Angela Rayner called for his resignation, saying it was "Tory cronyism at the heart of the BBC".[21]

In August 2022, former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis stated that Gibb was an "active agent of the Conservative party" who played a significant role in determining the nature of the corporation's news output.[24][25] A freedom of information request to the BBC for "[email] communications where he [Gibb] has sought to reprimand after a broadcast or article he disagreed with, educate BBC staff on impartiality, or be informed of output before its publication" has been refused by the BBC on the grounds of cost. The refusal came in April 2023, three-and-a-half months after the initial request.[26]

In September 2024, after The Jewish Chronicle was forced to apologise for publishing a string of fabricated stories about the Israel-Gaza war, Alan Rusbridger queried how Gibb could, as a member of the BBC's editorial guidelines and standard committee, sit on a panel and participate in an upcoming review of the impartiality of the BBC’s war coverage.[16]

Personal life

Gibb is married to Liz and they have two daughters.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Robbie Paul Gibb". Companies House. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Edwardes, Charlotte (25 March 2019). "The inside track on Robbie Gibb... the man putting words in Theresa May's mouth". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  4. ^ Buchanan, Kirsty (19 March 2021). "The senior Tories with the secret Soviet past". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.(subscription required)
  5. ^ Mason, Rowena (6 July 2017). "Robbie Gibb: No 10's 'fair, flexible and very modern' new spin doctor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  6. ^ Hope, Christopher (6 July 2017). "Analysis: Theresa May's hiring of Robbie Gibb shows she is in Downing Street for the long term". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.(subscription required)
  7. ^ a b "BBC Daily Politics editor Robbie Gibb to join No 10". BBC News. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Sir Robbie Gibb". LinkedIn. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  9. ^ Plunkett, John (11 May 2016). "BBC rejects fears EU referendum debate could be hijacked". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b Barker, Alex; Bond, David; Parker, George (9 July 2021). "BBC director sought to block senior editorial appointment". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.(subscription required)
  11. ^ Mason, Rowena (5 August 2019). "Boris Johnson ushers in radical new era of special advisers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Resignation Honours 2019" (PDF). gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Former Downing Street Aide, Sir Robbie Gibb, Joins As a Senior Advisor". Kekst CNC. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  14. ^ Waterson, Jim (23 April 2020). "Jewish Chronicle saved by consortium after messy takeover battle". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Alan Rusbridger: Who funds the Jewish Chronicle? It's troubling that we don't know". The Independent. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d Rusbridger, Alan (18 September 2024). "Why a scandal at the Jewish Chronicle also goes to the top of the BBC". Prospect. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  17. ^ a b Farber, Charlie Parker, Alex (24 September 2024). "Who owns The Jewish Chronicle? Why the mystery made writers quit". The Times. Retrieved 24 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ a b Rusbridger, Alan (24 January 2024). "How the government captured the BBC". Prospect. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  19. ^ "The future of the BBC licence fee". Taxpayers' Alliance. 4 March 2020. Event occurs at 04:00. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  20. ^ Rajan, Amol (29 April 2021). "Sir Robbie Gibb: Former Downing Street communications director joins BBC Board". Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  21. ^ a b Skopeliti, Clea; Allegretti, Aubrey (10 July 2021). "Labour demands resignation of No 10 ally accused of trying to block BBC appointment". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Sir Robbie Gibb". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  23. ^ Shah, Oliver (29 January 2023). "Richard Sharp, the well-connected BBC bigwig with a charmed life". The Times.(subscription required)
  24. ^ Waterson, Jim (24 August 2022). "Emily Maitlis says "active Tory party agent" shaping BBC news output". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  25. ^ Elliards, Xander (25 August 2022). "Who is Robbie Gibb? The 'Tory agent' Emily Maitlis says influences the BBC". The National. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  26. ^ Elliards, Xander (19 April 2023). "BBC refuses to publish emails from 'active Tory agent' Robbie Gibb". The National. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
Government offices
Preceded by Downing Street Director of Communications
2017–2019 		Succeeded by