BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders
A BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told.
Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBCNews, Deborah Turness.
In an article for the Guardian, the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called for Gibb to be removed from the BBC’s board before the search for a new director general begins.
On another extraordinary day for the BBC, Trump threatened it with a billion-dollar legal action, after criticism of the way an edition of Panorama broadcast more than a year ago edited one of his speeches.
This all follows the leak of a memo written by Michael Prescott. He is a former political correspondent and editor for the Sunday Times and later a corporate affairs director for BT.
Prescott’s firm had ties to “Trump-aligned” tech/communications firms and conservative-leaning interests and I don’t believe you can seperate his political leanings with his attack on the BBC any more than you can ignore Robbie Gibb’s leanings.
The frustration here is that Prescott has made a few legitimate criticisms of the BBC while ignoring others.
The BBC matters because it is such a global news source and a Fourth Estate giant and this is a character assignation of the BBC in a clear attempt to muzzle their Journalism
Where I think Prescott gets it right is in his criticism of the BBC is their ridiculous editing of Trump’s speech.
Trump is a fascist who attempted to incite an insurrection to technically prevent him from being removed as President during the January 6th riots.
You don’t need to fatuously splice his speech together to make that point as Panorama did.
The pro-Trans position that the BBC took hasn’t won them any favours as they have disappeared down the middle class woke identity politics rabbit hole…
BBC rebukes newsreader who corrected ‘pregnant people’ to ‘women’
A newsreader who went viral after she made a face while changing the word “pregnant people” to “women” during a live broadcast has been found to have broken BBC impartiality rules.
Martine Croxall made the expression as she changed her script in an introduction to an interview with an assistant professor about groups most at risk during UK heatwaves.
Croxall won a legion of fans following the live broadcast, including author JK Rowling.
The broadcaster’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU), however, considered her facial expression expressed a “controversial view about trans people”.
The decision comes during a difficult week for the corporation, following revelations by The Daily Telegraph of a damning memo written by one of its own advisers.
…however Prescott’s criticism of the BBCs coverage of Israel’s genocide is hilariously wrong footed because he claims their Arabic Service was too friendly in its coverage towards Palestinians when their mainstream coverage is actually ridiculously supportive of Israel…
…so yes, BBC were wrong to splice Trump’s speech together because Trump’s fascism didn’t need to be edited.
Yes the BBC has been a tad eye rolling in its woke middle class identity politics when it comes to the radioactive trans debate.
But no, the BBC were not pro-Hamas and their coverage was way too friendly towards Israel’s war crimes and genocide.
This is a co-ordinated character assassination of the BBCs journalism by the Right who seek to control the narrative of one of the worlds biggest public broadcasters and should be seen for what it is, a coup to muzzle fourth estate journalism.
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