Connections … between the BBC and Blair

The distinguishing characteristic of the three-part documentary on the Blair years which ended on BBC1 last Sunday was not just that it failed to tell us things we didn’t already know. No, what was most intriguing about it was the web of interconnecting BBC-Blairite links that lay behind it. Consider the following.
 
The series was made for the BBC by Juniper, an independent production company run by Samir Shah, who used to run BBC Westminster. An intelligent man of strong Blairite sympathies, he does more than just run Juniper — he is also a non-executive director on the board of the BBC.
 
Juniper’s managing director is Richard Clemmow. He used to be Head of News at the BBC. He is also married to Jana Bennett, who is “Head of Vision” at the BBC; as befits her Orwellian title, that makes her one of the top four executives at the Beeb (though not an especially inspiring one).