BBC latest: Culture secretary defends corporation - after leak reveals staff's anger at Tory-linked board member

Continuing to face MPs' questions in the Commons, Lisa Nandy says the BBC board wants to move quickly to install a new director-general.

She tells the House:

"I understand from the board that there is a desire to move quickly on that, but that the existing director-general will remain in place to ensure a smooth transition."

Another intervention comes from Oliver Dowden, who served as culture secretary between 2020 and 2021 under Tory PM Boris Johnson.

Dowden says the BBC's problems go deeper than the leadership of Tim Davie.

He singles out a "cultural disposition" at the corporation:

"People that work for it have an overwhelmingly metropolitan outlook and obsess about issues such as BLM [Black Lives Matter] and Palestine in a way that suburban and provincial England does not."

This is a problem, he says, because the BBC is funded by licence-fee payers, which is not the case for other broadcasters.

There is "a real problem with the BBC now whereby many people feel that it represents half of the United Kingdom, not the other half", Dowden concludes.

Labour MP Sarah Owen asks Lisa Nandy about the role of Sir Robbie Gibb on the BBC board, saying: "Is it time to review the influence of conservative spin doctor, Sir Robbie Gibb, from the BBC's Board?" 

The appointment of the former Tory director of communications to the board was controversial, and the leaders of the Lib Dems and SNP have both called for his removal.

Nandy says:

"Well, can I thank the honourable lady for her question in relation to the board. She will be aware that the charter sets a strict legal threshold that must be met before dismissal of a board member, and so I am unable to pursue the course of action that she suggests."

We brought you news in our 16.39 post of questions BBC staff members themselves had about Gibb's role.

Shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston is up next and - as expected - he lays into the BBC's latest failings.

He says the corporation is "in a sorry mess... of its own making" and "needs saving from itself".

As in the previous days, Huddleston once more stresses that his party wants the BBC to succeed and praises its successes but emphasises that this "requires institutional change and far more than a few moves at the top".

The problems of the corporation relate to its failure to honour its charter obligation to impartiality, he says.

Among these failures he names the following points:

• The BBC's coverage of trans rights;
• "Selective" push notifications;
• The output of the BBC's Arabic news service;
• Reliance on stats provided by Hamas;

• A BBC Gaza documentary, one of whose narrators was later found to have links to Hamas.

Regarding the BBC's edit of Donald Trump's January 6 speech, Huddleston urges the culture secretary to agree with him that the corporation "must provide a fulsome apology to the US president... and would do well to apologise to the British public, too".

He says the BBC's culture needs to change and that an impartiality review is required. 

He also asks Lisa Nandy for a timeline on the BBC charter review and the appointment of a new BBC director-general.

Watch the shadow culture secretary here...

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is speaking in parliament about the crisis engulfing the BBC.

She says she's been in "regular contact" with BBC chair Samir Shah, ensuring that where its standards were not met "firm, swift and transparent action follows".

"I welcome the steps that have already been set out and I will keep the house updated as the BBC leadership grips these issues," she adds, saying she agrees with Shah that the national broadcaster has a responsibility to "uphold the highest standards".

Nandy says "some in the House" have suggested the BBC is institutionally bias - she disagrees, saying the BBC is a "light on the hill for people here and across the world".

"All of us in this House should value it, uphold it and fiercely defend it."
Lisa Nandy, culture secretary

She warns MPs against attacking the broadcaster, asking them to "consider just what is at stake".

She adds: "Those in this House attacking the BBC from left and right for not expressing views they agree with should consider just what is at stake. There is a fundamental difference between raising serious concerns over editorial failings and members of this House launching a sustained attack on the institution itself, because the BBC is not just a broadcaster, it is a national institution that belongs to us all."

Nandy says a review of the BBC's Royal Charter will begin "imminently" (see our 14.40 post for more on that) and a public consultation will be launched, with more details in the "coming weeks". 

Watch Nandy's statement below...

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is making a statement in the House of Commons on the BBC crisis.

Watch Nandy speak in the stream at the top of the page and we'll bring you the latest updates here.

As we reported in our last post, there was frustration among BBC staff earlier during a Q&A with the outgoing director-general.

While taking issue with their questions being vetted, a number of staff members asked about Sir Robbie Gibb and what his continued presence on the BBC board said about the organisation's impartiality.

There have also been calls from the Lib Dem and SNP leaders for him to go.

Read more on the former Tory director of communications here...

Our arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer reported earlier today that BBC staff were frustrated by having their questions vetted during today's Q&A with Tim Davie, the outgoing director-general.

She reports now that staff started making comments that were public to all to get around the vetting - and she has been sent screenshots of some of them anonymously.

Many comments are on BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb, who served as director of communications for Tory prime minister Theresa May, demonstrating the strength of feeling among employees over perceived political interference on the BBC board.

Here are some of the comments submitted anonymously that she was sent:

The Chair's responses in this call are depressing and tone deaf - 'disrespectful of the board?' - Nonsense.

On what basis do political appointees to the board attempt to influence editorial policy?

Why is Robbie Gibb still on the board?

Someone said they "seconded" that question and a third person said: "I would also like to know the answer to [their] question".

Others said on Gibb:

I find Robbie Gibb's continued presence at the BBC to be incredibly demoralising. It feels as if he is fighting against and undermining the work we're trying to do.

How can we claim to be unbiased if Gibb is on the board?

The board needs independent oversight free from political interference. Until Robbie Gibb and any other political appointees are removed, we cannot possibly be truly trusted to be an un-biased organisation.

How many... questions about Robbie Gibb are 'awaiting review' right now?

Many also asked why questions were being reviewed at all:

I don't really understand why questions are being reviewed and approved in the first place...

Ha, my questions haven't passed review either. Honestly, this only fans the flames of conspiracy

Another employee shared a laughing emoji.

International media lawyer Mark Stephens says that although Donald Trump is making some serious allegations against the BBC, a legal victory for him is far from guaranteed.

Trump's case, filed in Florida and not the UK, requires proving the president has suffered serious financial and reputational damage as a result of the Panorama interview edit.

Stephens points out the documentary, which aired in October 2024, wasn't shown in Florida or available on BBC iPlayer in the US.

He says Trump's lawyers face two serious impediments to their case and asks whether the US president will take the "PR win" over the news organisation.

Watch his interview here...

The culture secretary will be making a statement in the Commons later this afternoon on the issues facing the BBC.

Lisa Nandy is expected to speak at around 5.30pm about the corporation's leadership and Donald Trump's legal threat.

So far, Downing Street has said the BBC is not corrupt or institutionally biased, as it appeared to hit back at critics of the public broadcaster, including Trump.