Former BBC presenter Mishal Husain has described the current turmoil at the broadcaster as feeling "existential" as senior executives prepare to face questioning from MPs next week.
A Crisis of Trust in Polarised Times
Speaking on her Bloomberg podcast, The Mishal Husain Show, the editor-at-large warned that the challenges extend far beyond the corporation itself. "What is at stake now is well beyond the BBC and speaks to the challenges of maintaining trust in our polarised age," Husain stated. Reflecting on her time within the organisation, she added, "I did see serious issues play out from the inside. This one … feels existential."
The comments come ahead of a crucial culture, media and sport committee hearing scheduled for next Monday. BBC chair Samir Shah and non-executive directors Robbie Gibb and Caroline Thomson are expected to give evidence about editorial standards at the public service broadcaster.
Political Appointments and Editorial Independence
Husain identified the process for appointing board members as a fundamental problem requiring urgent reform. "In increasingly divided societies, national institutions need to inspire trust across a large segment of the population, and yet several members of the BBC board – including the chair – are appointed by the government of the day," she argued.
She called for courage to establish a new, non-partisan system for board appointments, separating the broadcaster from government influence while maintaining public accountability. "Now is the time for courage, for a non-partisan system of board appointments," Husain emphasised, noting that the issue has significance beyond UK borders.
The Panorama Edit and High-Profile Resignations
The crisis intensified following the leak of an internal report by editorial standards advisor Michael Prescott. The report criticised an episode of Panorama about the 6 January Capitol riot in 2021, which featured a misleading edit of a Donald Trump speech.
The controversial edit, lasting just 12 seconds, spliced together two segments from Trump's speech that were nearly an hour apart. It made it appear the former president said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol … and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."
In reality, the verbatim quote was: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women." The words "And we fight. We fight like hell" were spoken more than 50 minutes later.
This revelation prompted accusations of bias and led to the high-profile resignations of two of the BBC's most senior executives: director general Tim Davie and chief executive of news Deborah Turness.
In the aftermath, Donald Trump demanded an apology and threatened legal action. After the BBC legal team issued an apology late last week, Trump told reporters he still planned to sue for "anywhere between a billion and $5bn".
The situation has also increased pressure on BBC board member Robbie Gibb, a former Conservative No 10 press secretary, with MPs and staff calling for his removal amid accusations of a rightwing coup.
Husain also questioned whether the director general's role had become "too vast for any one person," noting the position combines being both chief executive and editor-in-chief for more than 5,000 journalists worldwide.
