Senior BBC executives, including chairman Samir Shah, faced intense questioning from MPs for over three hours amid allegations of bias at the corporation.
The turmoil followed the leak of a memo by former external adviser Michael Prescott, which criticised editorial decisions and highlighted a misleading edit of a 2021 speech by U.S. President Donald Trump in a Panorama episode, prompting the recent resignations of director general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness.
Prescott denied the BBC had institutional bias, stating, “No, I don’t.” He praised the corporation’s work but criticised its failure to address systemic editorial problems, saying “There’s real work that needs to be done at the BBC.”
He cited a now-retracted 2024 BBC Verify story falsely claiming ethnic minorities paid higher car insurance premiums as a major editorial failure.
Samir Shah apologised to licence fee payers and staff, admitting the BBC was slow to react to the Trump speech edit controversy and stating, “I regret the mistakes that have been made.”
He acknowledged internal reports first flagged the issue in January, but the BBC only formally responded months later, saying the response should have come sooner. Shah rejected claims the board pressured for delays and pledged to remain in his role to drive reforms.
Board member Caroline Thomson revealed ongoing divisions on the timing and nature of the apology, noting the edit was misleading but defended by some execs as justified by Trump’s speech content, who felt it “should have been a more transparent edit.”
Sir Robbie Gibb considered the edit a breach of editorial policy, as it implied Trump was calling for violence.
Shah confirmed he attempted to persuade Davie to stay, describing Turness’s resignation as “honourable” but regretting Davie’s departure, as the director general role was “too big for one person.” Plans include appointing a deputy focused on journalism alongside the next director general.
Sir Robbie Gibb maintained his impartiality, saying “I have impartiality through my bones,” and dismissed conspiracy theories alleging a board coup over the memo leak as “complete nonsense.”