BBC chair Rona Fairhead set to quit after May tells her to reapply for job

Head of the Trust said she will not be applying to head the coporation’s new governing body

BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead is set to quit after being told by the Prime Minister that she would have to reapply for the job.

Fairhead quit saying it would be “better to have a clean break and for the government to appoint someone new”.

Fairhead was the first woman to lead the BBC Trust and began her four-year tenure in October 2014.

The Charter faced major changes in May this year with how the BBC is run.

The government under David Cameron had made the decision that Fairhead would continue- until 2018- moving from chairman of the trust to lead the new unitary board.

It’s understood that May was concerned about the lack of transparency in the recruitment process and felt the new post required more diverse skills.

The decision to open the job up to other candidates was due to be announced on Thursday as part of a package of reforms of the BBC Trust.

Tony Hall, the BBC’s director general, told the Guardian: “Rona has made a real contribution to the BBC and at a really important time for us. On behalf of all the staff, I’d like to thank her for that and wish her the very best for the future. We will continue to work together in the interests of licence fee payers until the new governance arrangements are in place.”