BBC Media Action
International-development charity of the BBC; CSSF contractor
| BBC Media Action | |
|---|---|
| Trade name | |
| Logo | |
| Type | Company registered at Companies House |
| Founded | 26 February 1998 (incorporated) |
| Founder(s) | |
| Defunct | |
| Headquarters | England |
| Industry | Other education not elsewhere classified |
| Services | |
| Parent | |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Revenue | |
| Number of employees | |
| Homepage | |
BBC Media Action (Bbc Media Action, Companies House number 03521587) is a contractor to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Companies House records the company as incorporated on 26 February 1998, with status "Active", nature of business "85590 - Other education not elsewhere classified".[1][2] It is a named supplier on Lot 1 of the CSSF Framework Agreement 2023–27.[3] Contracts Finder lists 2 published CSSF award(s) to the organisation with a combined stated value of £360,044. FCO and FCDO payments to it over £25,000 recorded in published departmental spending data total about £58,686,456; these figures cover all FCO/FCDO (and, after September 2020, former Department for International Development) programmes and are not limited to the CSSF.[4]
Overview
BBC Media Action is the BBC's international-development charity. It states that it is editorially separate from BBC News.[5] Its 2023–24 annual report covers FCDO-funded projects.[6]
CSSF/ISF and other UK government work
Government funding for BBC Media Action was the subject of a House of Lords written answer in August 2023.[7]
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) reviewed the CSSF's aid spending in March 2018 and gave it an amber-red score, finding the fund responsive to National Security Council priorities but with weak results management and inadequate evidence of outcomes and value for money.[8] ICAI published a follow-up review in 2019.[9]
Controversies and criticism
BBC editorial guidelines set out additional rules for externally funded BBC Media Action content, requiring that funding arrangements do not compromise impartiality or independence.[10]
Declassified UK reported in February 2022 that BBC Media Action is an implementing organisation of the CSSF's Central Asia programme. The programme aims to "promote media plurality and balance" and is part of more than £80m of UK media spending in 20 countries around Russia. The outlet noted that the Ministry of Defence is an implementing department of the wider counter-disinformation programme, and that the FCO refused to name the media outlets that received funds.[11] The Grayzone reported in 2021 that leaked FCO documents showed BBC Media Action bidding for, and apparently winning, a place in an FCO Counter Disinformation & Media Development programme in the Baltic states. The documents also showed it proposing a Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia programme with Reuters and Aktis Strategy. The Grayzone called these "covert" programmes. BBC Media Action has said it is editorially independent of BBC News (see above).[12]
Published CSSF contracts
| Award date | Contract | Value (£) | Supplier name as published | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-01-13 | CSSF: Investigative journalism Scoping in Caribbean | 45,000 | BBC Media Action | [13] |
| 2020-06-10 | CSSF Algeria - Covid-19 Response Media Support | 315,044 | BBC Media Action | [14] |
FCO/FCDO payments
| Year | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 351,840 |
| 2014 | 1,277,403 |
| 2015 | 2,004,910 |
| 2016 | 5,244,622 |
| 2017 | 5,900,858 |
| 2018 | 6,219,980 |
| 2019 | 6,529,890 |
| 2020 | 6,814,577 |
| 2021 | 8,947,804 |
| 2022 | 4,514,211 |
| 2023 | 4,977,266 |
| 2024 | 5,516,533 |
| 2025 | 386,563 |
| Total | 58,686,456 |
People
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dushani Karunatilleka | Secretary | 16 November 2022 | – |
| James Brady (James Mark Brady) | Director | 23 October 2025 | – |
| Shirley Cameron (Shirley Faye Cameron) | Director | 12 July 2019 | – |
| Hannah Jones (Hannah Ceri Jones) | Director | 12 February 2026 | – |
| Michael Madnick | Director | 3 July 2026 | – |
| Lindsey North (Lindsey Mary North) | Director | 24 January 2022 | – |
| Alexander Okosi | Director | 23 September 2026 | – |
| Nicholas Pickles (Nicholas James Pickles) | Director | 1 October 2017 | – |
| Julia Rank (Julia Ruth Rank) | Director | 1 July 2018 | – |
| Anna Sedgley | Director | 3 June 2026 | – |
| Rhodri Talfan Davies | Director | 30 April 2025 | – |
| Naomi Wass (Naomi Katherine Wass) | Director | 12 February 2026 | – |
| Myles Wickstead (Professor Myles Antony Wickstead) | Director | 12 July 2019 | – |
| Jonathan Zilkha (Jonathan Mark Zilkha) | Director | 23 October 2025 | – |
| David Bradshaw (David Reinford Bradshaw) | Secretary | 26 February 1998 | 1 November 1999 |
| Melanie Lowndes (Melanie Louise Anne Lowndes) | Secretary | 1 November 1999 | 10 March 2003 |
| Lindsey North (Lindsey Mary North) | Secretary | 10 March 2003 | 19 November 2021 |
| Nicolas Raynaud | Secretary | 19 November 2021 | 16 November 2022 |
| Awo Ablo (Awo Selasi Ablo) | Director | 15 October 2018 | 1 October 2024 |
| George Alagiah (George Maxwell Alagiah) | Director | 25 January 2010 | 29 January 2016 |
| Zeinab Badawi Malik (Zeinab Mohammed Khair Badawi Malik) | Director | 15 March 2002 | 24 October 2008 |
| Zeinab Badawi- Malik | Director | 17 October 2016 | 17 October 2022 |
| Christopher Beauman | Director | 18 May 1998 | 18 January 2008 |
| Reeta Chakrabarti | Director | 17 October 2022 | 31 July 2025 |
| Nigel Chapman (Nigel Conrad Chapman) | Director | 23 January 2001 | 27 February 2009 |
| Shubhranshu Choudhary | Director | 18 January 2017 | 31 January 2020 |
| Richard Dawkins (Richard William Dawkins) | Director | 1 July 2015 | 11 May 2022 |
| Martin Dinham (Martin John Dinham) | Director | 24 January 2013 | 12 July 2019 |
| Alison Evans (Dr Alison Margaret Evans) | Director | 8 February 2011 | 29 January 2016 |
| Robert Grose (Robert Nicholas Grose) | Director | 27 January 2000 | 29 January 2002 |
| Phillip Harrold (Phillip John Harrold) | Director | 25 April 2022 | 13 February 2026 |
| Andrew Hind (Andrew Fleming Hind) | Director | 26 February 1998 | 30 September 2004 |
| Peter Horrocks (Peter John Gibson Horrocks) | Director | 26 April 2010 | 28 February 2015 |
| Freshta Karim | Director | 23 January 2023 | 30 April 2025 |
| Susan King | Director | 7 September 2005 | 20 January 2017 |
| David Kogan (David Barnett Kogan) | Director | 11 April 2014 | 23 October 2017 |
| Ralph Land (Ralph Richard Land) | Director | 1 November 1999 | 19 January 2005 |
| Gavin Mann (Gavin Alexander Mann) | Director | 10 July 2017 | 9 July 2026 |
| Richard Manning (Richard Guy Moberley Manning) | Director | 18 April 2008 | 26 April 2010 |
| Keith McAdam (Professor Keith Paul William James McAdam) | Director | 25 April 2013 | 17 January 2019 |
| Michael McCulloch (Michael Cutler McCulloch) | Director | 12 October 2001 | 23 October 2017 |
| Edward McMillan-Scott (Edward Hugh Christian McMillan-Scott) | Director | 18 May 1998 | 20 November 2001 |
| Bhupendra Mistry (Mr Bhupendra Mistry) | Director | 7 September 2005 | 20 January 2017 |
| Sanjay Nazerali (Sanjay Amir Abdul Nazerali) | Director | 17 October 2014 | 10 July 2017 |
| Thomas Nelson (Thomas Richard Nelson) | Director | 26 February 1998 | 26 May 2002 |
| Nigel Paine (Nigel Escot Paine) | Director | 8 April 2002 | 23 January 2006 |
| Zarin Patel (Zarin Homi Patel) | Director | 18 April 2008 | 8 February 2011 |
| Usha Prashar (Baroness Usha Kumari Prashar) | Director | 16 May 2002 | 7 February 2005 |
| Ralph Rivera | Director | 26 October 2012 | 24 July 2015 |
| Richard Sambrook (Richard Jeremy Sambrook) | Director | 27 February 2009 | 26 April 2010 |
| Jonathan Snow (Jonathan George Snow) | Director | 18 May 1998 | 5 April 2001 |
| Michael Stevenson (Michael Charles Stevenson) | Director | 27 January 2000 | 23 March 2001 |
| Sophia Swithern | Director | 18 January 2017 | 17 January 2026 |
| Andrew Taussig (Andrew John Taussig) | Director | 26 February 1998 | 31 December 2000 |
| Richard Thomas (Richard Peter Thomas) | Director | 18 April 2008 | 19 June 2015 |
| Caroline Thomson (Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson) | Director | 26 February 1998 | 18 January 2008 |
| Francesca Unsworth (Francesca Mary Unsworth) | Director | 17 October 2014 | 30 April 2025 |
| John Vaughan (Professor John Patrick Vaughan) | Director | 5 November 2003 | 17 October 2011 |
| Michael Williams (Lord Michael Charles Williams) | Director | 7 September 2005 | 20 April 2009 |
| Alison Woodhams (Alison Clare Woodhams) | Director | 26 October 2012 | 12 July 2019 |
| Alison Woodhams (Alison Clare Woodhams) | Director | 11 November 2004 | 14 September 2007 |
| Michael Wooldridge (Michael James Wooldridge) | Director | 1 July 2015 | 26 July 2024 |
See also
Notes
- ↑ Companies House, BBC MEDIA ACTION (03521587) Companies House, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Companies House, BBC MEDIA ACTION (03521587): officers Companies House, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Framework Agreement (2023-2027): contract award notice 029743-2023 Find a Tender Service, 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO departmental spending over £25,000 GOV.UK, 2010–2020; Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO: departmental spending over £25,000 GOV.UK, 2020–2026.
- ↑ BBC Media Action, Facts still matter BBC Media Action, February 2025.
- ↑ BBC Media Action, Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 BBC Media Action, 2024.
- ↑ UK Parliament (via TheyWorkForYou), BBC Media Action: Finance (HL9623) Hansard Written Answers, 7 August 2023.
- ↑ Independent Commission for Aid Impact, The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund's aid spending ICAI, March 2018.
- ↑ Independent Commission for Aid Impact, ICAI follow-up of: The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund's aid spending ICAI, 2019.
- ↑ BBC, Section 16: External Relationships, Part C – Additional guidelines for BBC World Service and BBC Media Action BBC Editorial Guidelines, accessed 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Declassified UK, UK spends over £80m on media in 20 countries around Russia Declassified UK, 8 February 2022.
- ↑ Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone, Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to "weaken Russia," leaked docs reveal The Grayzone, 20 February 2021.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, CSSF: Investigative journalism Scoping in Caribbean Contracts Finder, 2020-01-13.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, CSSF Algeria - Covid-19 Response Media Support Contracts Finder, 2020-06-10.