Ofcom chief 'neutered' by application to be BBC Director General Mr Hunt is facing calls to resign from his post amid claims that he acted as a cheer-leader for Rupert Murdoch's bid to merge BSkyB with News Corporation, just a month before he was put in charge of scrutinising the bid, and subsequently mis-led parliament. One television source said Mr Hunt had been "neutered" by the scandal and that Mr Richards has now neutered himself as well, making it unlikely that any major policy decisions will be made soon. Mr Richards worked at the BBC during the late 1990s and early 2000s before becoming Tony Blair's policy advisor. He will be competing with BBC insiders including its chief operating officer Caroline Thomson, its head of news Helen Boaden, and director of BBC Vision George Entwistle for the role.