BBC disaster deepens as ‘weak’ board chair Samir Shah may very well be subsequent senior determine to be toppled amid ongoing bias row
The BBC was in renewed crisis today with rumours it could be set to lose its board chair in the ongoing row about systemic bias at the corporation.
A former senior BBC news editor warned that ‘weak’ Samir Shah could be the third senior member of the BBC to be toppled as the unprecedented public debate over impartiality and bias allegations showed no sign of abating.
The allegations of institutional bias led to the resignations of Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness two weeks ago.
Shah and other BBC board members are due to appear before a critical Select Committee of MPs on Monday to discuss growing concerns over editorial standards at the supposedly impartial publicly funded corporation.
But his appearance was overshadowed by the resignation last night of fellow BBC board member Shumeet Banerji, laying bare clear schisms on the 12-strong board, which is responsible for oversight and strategy of the BBC.
Banerji’s resignation over ‘governance issues’ appeared timed to ramp up the pressure on Samir Shah ahead of Monday.
He was also said to have cited frustrations at not being consulted about the resignations of Davie and Turness in his own resignation letter.
But former Editor of BBC One’s Ten ‘O’ Clock and Six ‘O’ Clock News Sir Craig Oliver told the BBC today that what Banerji was saying was ‘really code for saying he thinks there has been weakness and a lack of grip’ and he warned: ‘The stakes were already high for Samir Shah and they just got even higher as the BBC risks the prospect not only of losing the director general and the head of news but also losing the chairman of the board of governors.’
A former senior BBC news editor has warned that ‘weak’ chair of the BBC board Samir Shah (pictured) could be the third senior member of the BBC to be toppled
Sir Craig Oliver (pictured) said today that ‘stakes are high’ for the chairman of the board and said recent scandals about objectivity make the BBC an easy target for its enemies
Oliver said Banerji’s resignation was a direct consequence of the BBC’s failure to ‘get a grip on the situation’ which he also said had made it easier for ‘enemies of the BBC and those who didn’t like it’ to criticise it.
‘The BBC needs the person in charge of governance to grip it hard and say “right, this is what is going to happen” and very, very early in the process knock heads together and say “let’s draw a line. There’s clarity on this and let’s move on”, but that didn’t happen and we have seen what happens when you fail to take a grip.
‘You end up in situations where a board member is resigning on the eve of a Select Committee appearance in order to cause problems for you.’
And, firmly laying the blame at the door of Samir Shah, he said the timing was ‘terrible’ because ‘the BBC Charter renewal was coming down the tracks’.
‘The problem is we have this period which is rolling and we are speculating about what is going to happen and this issue does not feel like it is finished yet by a long way.
‘And meanwhile people who are enemies of the BBC, people who don’t like it, are able to say “look there is chaos and there are problems” and the story of whether there is institutional bias rumbles on,’ he told Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘The issue of that lies at the door of the chair of the board of the governors and so far it looks like he’s been very weak and he has failed to actually get up and control the board.
‘He should say “this is what we are doing and if you have to resign over it – so be it – but my job is to protect the BBC and take tough and clear action” and that didn’t happen.’
The uncertainty comes at a particularly difficult time for the BBC due to the upcoming renewal of its Charter
BBC board member Shumeet Banerji sensationally resigned last night over ‘governance’ issues
The crisis began when a leaked memo from former BBC editorial standards adviser Michael Prescott raised serious concerns about the BBC’s reporting including its apparent doctoring of a Donald Trump speech in a Panorama episode, its coverage of the Gaza war and reporting on trans issues.
Trump has threatened to sue the corporation for $5 billion for the way it edited two separate sections of his speech made on January 6, 2021, together. In the BBC edit, Trump appeared to be calling on his supporters to march on the Capitol.
The BBC has since acknowledged the edit gave ‘the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action‘.
Oliver, who went on to become communications chief for David Cameron, said that ‘all eyes are going to be on Samir Shah on Monday’ and added:
‘The questions I think he’s going to really have to answer are is it true that months ago you chaired a BBC meeting where the Panorama issue was on the table and you decided to take no action? And if so why – particularly after what you’ve now said – did you not take action then?
‘And I think that the next question that he’s really going to have face is, when Michael Prescott’s report was leaked to the Telegraph, why did you preside over such a long period of time of the BBC not coming out, particularly when the executive wanted to get out and cauterize the issue as cleanly as possible?’
