BBC senior leaders get interrogated by MPs following leaked memo
BBC chair Samir Shah, non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb, senior independent director Caroline Thomson, and former advisers Caroline Daniel and Michael Prescott appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee.
Prescott, the former external adviser responsible for the leaked memo, had criticized BBC Panorama for allegedly misrepresenting a Trump speech through its editing. When asked whether he considered the BBC “institutionally biased,” he rejected the notion. “I don’t,” he said. “Let’s be very clear. Tons of stuff the BBC does is world-class factual programming… I think the standard of BBC Westminster is exemplary, and that’s why I keep saying these were incipient problems. We were finding the odd problem here and there.”
However, Prescott cautioned that when issues did arise, “they appeared to have systemic causes that were not addressed,” adding that “there’s real work that needs to be done at the BBC.”
Caroline Daniel, who previously served on the BBC standards committee, told MPs that her experience was the corporation “took issues of impartiality extremely seriously.” She described a continuous process of debate over coverage decisions across thousands of hours of programming, noting, “Was the BBC willing to have a proper conversation, debate and actually take action? In my view, yes.”
Much of the discussion focused on the Panorama episode that prompted the resignations. Prescott admitted that he initially thought the program included “more anti-Trump people” and was not “as fair and balanced as you might expect, typically from the BBC,” though he said he “rather enjoyed” it at the time.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
