BBC chairman Samir Shah says Tim Davie had board’s ‘unanimous’ support

BBC chairman Samir Shah has said that director-general Tim Davie had the “unanimous” support of the corporation’s board prior to his resignation.

In a letter in response to a Culture, Media And Sport Committee evidence session, which saw him questioned by MPs alongside former editorial adviser Michael Prescott and board member Sir Robbie Gibb, the 73-year-old said Mr Davie had been an “outstanding” director-general.

He said: “It was clear to me over that weekend (that Mr Davie resigned) that the director-general retained my non-executive colleagues’ unanimous support.”

Last month, Mr Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness announced their exit in the wake of a leaked memo from Mr Prescott which raised concerns that a speech by US President Donald Trump, featured in a Panorama episode in 2024, was selectively edited.

Less than two weeks later, BBC board member Shumeet Banerji also announced he would be leaving.

In his response, Mr Shah said there was “nothing to suggest” the memo’s leak came from within the BBC.

A further response from the BBC’s director of editorial complaints and reviews Peter Johnston, which the corporation says was not written on the basis that it would be published, said BBC News did not accept that the programme was biased against the US president.

Mr Johnston said: “BBC News did not agree with the assertion that the Panorama was anti-Trump.

“They pointed out that the programme was constructed with a spine of Trump supporters, the Front Row Joes, two of which appeared 12 and 15 times respectively, so they argued that the overall tone was not anti-Trump, but seeking to understand his popular appeal.

“They also explained why due impartiality did not require an equivalent programme on (Democratic Party candidate Kamala) Harris and described some other current affairs output which had not been included in the original scope, including a Question Time special from Philadelphia, and which helped with the overall impartiality.

“There was a difference of opinion in EGSC (Editorial Guidelines And Standards Committee) about the editing of Trump’s speech.”

The Panorama programme, broadcast a week before the 2024 US election results, spliced two clips together from a speech in 2021 so that Mr Trump appeared to tell the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

Speaking about Mr Davie’s resignation, Mr Shah added: “The director-general’s statement is very clear in detailing the reasons for his resignation.

“The error of judgement on the Panorama edit, for which the CEO of News had taken responsibility, was a contributory factor, but not the only reason behind his decision.

“His statement makes clear that the wider pressures of the job over many years led him, reluctantly, to decide this was the right moment to step down.

“As I said in my evidence at the committee, I believe Tim Davie has been an outstanding director-general.

“Whilst the board and I are disappointed that he resigned, we understood and respected his reasons for doing so.”

After Mr Prescott’s report became public Mr Shah apologised on behalf of the BBC over an “error of judgment” and accepted that the editing of the speech gave “the impression of a direct call for violent action”.

Following the apology, Mr Trump threatened to sue the BBC for “anywhere between one billion dollars (£759.8 million) and five billion dollars (£3.79 billion)”.

In his response to the evidence session, Mr Shah apologised to licence fee payers saying he was “sorry for the damage done to the BBC’s reputation”, and added that he felt the corporation “must act with more pace in responding to issues of public concern”.

He also confirmed the recruitment process for Mr Davie’s replacement as director-general was under way.