Robbie Gibb

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

Robbie Gibb, brother of Conservative MP Nick Gibb, was the head of the BBC's political programme output before leaving the BBC in July 2017 to become Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street for Theresa May.

Early life

Gibb was born in September 1964 and attended Royal Holloway, University of London. Like his brother Nick, in his early years Gibb was recruited and trained by the National Alliance of Russian Solidarists, a Russian anticommunist organisation.

Journalism career

Gibb is a former editor of the BBC's ''Sunday Politics'' and ''Daily Politics'' programmes.

Gibb was head of BBC Westminster, in overall charge of the BBC's political programme output – ''Daily and Sunday Politics'', '' The Andrew Marr Show'', ''This Week'' and Radio 4's ''Westminster Hour''. Prior to joining the political team at Westminster he was deputy editor of BBC Two's ''Newsnight''.

During the 2016 EU referendum campaign Gibb was editor of ''The Great Debate'' at Wembley Arena. He also edited the BBC's 2017 general election debate.

In August 2020, it was reported that he was a leading light behind GB News – a new television channel which had been licensed (by the broadcasting regulator Ofcom) in January of the same year, and aimed to begin broadcasting in 2021. He stood down as GB News' editorial adviser in October.

In April 2021, it was reported Gibb would join the BBC Board as the Member for England, following his comments about "woke" and "endemic" bias in entertainment output. He sought to block Jess Brammar's appointment to a role overseeing the BBC's news channels over concerns that Brammar, a former editor of '' HuffPost UK'', would damage relations with the government. Prominent members of the Labour Party, including Angela Rayner, deputy leader, called for his resignation, saying it was "Tory cronyism at the heart of the BBC". In August 2022, former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis stated that Gibb, an "active agent of the Conservative party", played a significant role in determining the nature of the corporation's news output.

Political roles

Gibb was a political advisor and chief of staff to the then Shadow Chancellor Francis Maude. He played a leading role in Michael Portillo's unsuccessful campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party.

In July 2017, it was announced that Gibb would become Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street following the departure of Katie Perrior. Gibb is a long-standing supporter of Brexit. In April 2019, he was accused by former Conservative minister Nick Boles of being "a hard Brexiteer who wants to destroy the PM's new search for a cross party compromise".

Personal life

Gibb is the brother of Conservative MP and former Schools Minister Nick Gibb. He is married to Liz, and has two daughters.

He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in Theresa May's resignation honours on 10 September 2019.

Sir Robbie is the sole director of Jewish Chronicle Media Limited, having led the consortium which acquired ''The Jewish Chronicle'' newspaper in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibb, Robbie
Living people
British political consultants
Conservative Party (UK) people
Knights Bachelor
British journalists
BBC newsreaders and journalists
1964 births
Place of birth missing (living people)