Tim Davie has hit out at the “weaponisation” of criticisms of the BBC, as he addressed staff after his shock resignation as its director general.
Thanking staff for their support, Davie reassured them that the narrative around the corporation “will not just be given by our enemies” after a week in which senior politicians have accused it of systemic bias in its reporting.
“I do hear everyone when we have to be very clear and stand up for our journalism,” he said. “We are in a unique and precious organisation. I see the free press under pressure. I see the weaponisation. I think we’ve got a fight for our journalism. I’m really proud of our work.
“I’m fiercely proud of this organisation. There are difficult times it goes through, but it just does good work. That speaks – it speaks louder than any newspaper. Any weaponisation. We are the very best of what I think we should be as a society and that will never change.”
It follows days of opprobrium of the BBC after criticisms raised in a memo by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee. He left that role in the summer.
It included an edit of a Donald Trump speech on Panorama that Davie and others regard as a serious breach. Prescott’s allegations were leaked to the Daily Telegraph and reported over a week.
Rightwing figures including Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Liz Truss have used the findings to attack Davie, the licence fee and the future of the BBC as it is now constructed.
“Others want to run our narrative,” Davie said. “The amazing work locally, globally, that we’re doing is utterly precious. We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight for that and I’m fiercely proud of that and don’t let anyone stop you thinking that we are doing a fantastic job. We’ve actually grown trust, so let’s get that narrative out there.”
Davie said mistakes had been made and that taking responsibility was part of his decision to leave, as well as the cumulative effect of doing the job. He said he had “a few barnacles on me” from dealing with the various issues that have hit his leadership of the BBC over the last year.
“We just need to do our business, keep strong, and that’s a big ask when the noise is so deafening around us, but others want to run our narrative,” he said. “We absolutely can do our thing and I think a successor can do that.”
He insisted it was not an “impossible job” in the face of the political pressures. “I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said.
Many BBC staff see real failings outlined in the Prescott memo, but there is also concern about its political direction. They also point to the role of Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister.
Insiders said Gibb pushed for Prescott to be handed the external adviser role and also pressed the BBC’s editorial leadership over his memo’s findings.
Suggestions of a political effort from the right to pressure the BBC have been denied. Johnson has rejected any such suggestion as “complete and utter bollocks”. The BBC has said Gibb was only one of a four-person panel that appointed Prescott and only one of 13 board members. Prescott said in his letter that his criticisms “do not come with any political agenda”.
The BBC chair, Samir Shah, told the all-staff meeting that any idea of a rightwing coup to destabilise the BBC from within was fanciful.
Board members “have different points of view”, he said. “I wouldn’t want a board that’s guilty of groupthink, but the opposite of groupthink is different points of view. That makes the job of the chair challenging to try and organise and get consensus, but it’s important that people have a diversity of opinion on the board.”
