Former Guardian editor branded 'right old Leftie' tipped to be BBC's next head of news

By KATIE HIND, CONSULTANT EDITOR SHOWBUSINESS Published: 23:07, 6 June 2026 | Updated: 23:09, 6 June 2026 A Left-wing TV executive who was formerly deputy editor of The Guardian is favourite to become head of news at the BBC. Amid allegations of political bias at the national broadcaster, The Mail on Sunday understands that Ian Katz – currently head of content at Channel 4 – has been interviewed for the top job by new director-general Matt Brittin.  BBC insiders are said to be 'furious' at the plan to hire Mr Katz, a former editor of Newsnight who media insiders describe as a 'big Leftie'. If appointed, Mr Katz, 58, would replace Deborah Turness, who was forced to resign in November following criticism that Panorama misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.  Tim Davie also resigned as director general following the scandal. A BBC source told the MoS: 'Ian worked at The Guardian for 20 years, and he is known for being a right old Leftie.  'At a time when the BBC's news coverage is under so much scrutiny, it's frankly unthinkable that you could bring him in to head up the corporation's news coverage. 'It makes the BBC such an easy target for criticism. It's really difficult to get your head around.  Former Guardian editor Ian Katz has been described as a 'right old Leftie'  It comes amid allegations of political bias at the BBC 'There must be plenty of other people to interview, it all smacks of cronyism.' Mr Katz, who is divorced from Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts, is described by those who know him as a 'champagne socialist'. He worked at The Guardian for ten years until 2013, when he became editor of Newsnight.  In February, he announced he would be leaving Channel 4, with his departure set for October. Mr Katz came under criticism last month when two women came forward to say they were raped after appearing on Channel 4's dating show Married at First Sight UK.  He insisted he was 'very confident' that the network had handled the situation correctly as soon as it was brought to its attention. Mr Katz impressed BBC chiefs at the helm of Newsnight, winning several Royal Television Society awards for the show's coverage of the Grenfell Tower fire and scandal at the charity Kids Company. It is understood Mr Brittin has also interviewed Kamal Ahmed for the top news job.  A former economics editor and business editor at the BBC, Mr Ahmed was also editorial director between 2018 and 2021. The BBC has recently faced criticism of being anti-Israel, including over its failure to disclose the narrator of a documentary about Gaza was the son of a Hamas official. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.