BBC needs 'bold action on minorities'

A member of the BBC's executive board has said the corporation needs "serious enforcements" to get people from ethnic minorities into senior posts.

Samir Shah, who sits as a non-executive director of the BBC, is also chief executive of producer Juniper Communications.

In a speech to the Royal Television Society he followed up comments from Lenny Henry last week.

"Thirty years after (Henry) came into the business, there is not one black person, not one Asian person good enough to be a controller. It is an outrage and I think Lenny's call for affirmative action is the least we can do.

"Some years ago, the BBC had around 300 diversity initiatives, but it's the outcome that matters. We now need to put in place some serious enforcements if we are not to have another speech in another ten years."

The BBC's in-house magazine Aerial reported that he also said "performance at senior management level is dire, absolutely dire".

A corporation spokesman said there were schemes in place to improve the situation. Staff below management level will soon get more senior mentors to help their careers with ring-fenced places for black and ethnic minority employees.