FORMER Tory chancellor George Osborne is being lined up to become the next BBC chairman, according to reports.
The Prime Minister is keen to appoint a Tory to the role to counter what the UK Government sees as left-wing bias at the broadcaster, The Telegraph reported.
The newspaper added that it understands ex-MP Osborne is being urged to stand for the role by senior Government figures.
Ministers could increase the salary for the part-time role up to £280,000 a year in a bid to secure Osborne, who edited the Evening Standard until June.
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The job advert was published officially days ago with the salary already up from £100,000 in 2016 to £160,000 for the position which only requires 3-4 days of work per week.
In 2017 Osborne was reported to be earning £650,000 a year for working one day per week at BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager.
Osborne declined to comment on The Telegraph article and it is understood he is yet to be officially approached about the BBC position.
Others who could apply for the job are former Number 10 head of comms Robbie Gibb and Baroness Morgan, a former Tory culture secretary.
The news comes after reports that Paul Dacre, the former Daily Mail editor, was asked to run the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom.
Former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore, who was Margaret Thatcher’s biographer, was also reportedly considering the BBC chairman role but later ruled himself out for the job citing personal reasons.
David Clementi, the current BBC chairman, is due to step down when his term ends in February.
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