BBC Chair Samir Shah issued an apology for what he called an “error of judgment,” following the weekend departures of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness, both of whom resigned amid the controversy.
In a letter to Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Shah addressed multiple concerns about bias at the broadcaster. These issues were detailed in a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external advisor to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC), which was subsequently leaked to the Daily Telegraph.
Shah pushed back against interpretations suggesting the BBC had attempted to conceal these issues. “Some of the coverage of Mr Prescott’s memo has implied that he has ‘uncovered’ a list of stories and issues that the BBC have sought to ‘bury.’ That interpretation is simply not true,” Shah wrote. He emphasized that the EGSC had already been examining these concerns as part of its regular oversight duties.