BBC chairman Dr Samir Shah appeared before the Commons culture committee today as the corporation faces mounting pressure over serious journalistic scandals that have threatened its credibility and financial stability.
Parliamentary Scrutiny Intensifies
The session began with testimony from Michael Prescott, former external adviser to the BBC's editorial standards committee, whose leaked memo first brought the scandals to public attention. Prescott appeared alongside Caroline Daniel, a former Financial Times journalist, with both facing intense questioning from MPs.
Prescott described himself as a 'Centrist Dad' during proceedings, surprising the Labour-dominated committee who had suspected him of being sympathetic to right-wing critics. He expressed that he took 'absolutely no pleasure' in the resignations of senior BBC figures but stood by his revelations about the corporation's journalistic practices.
The Trump Threat and Internal Failings
The committee heard how the BBC's failure to address journalistic standards had led to former US President Donald Trump threatening a $5 billion lawsuit. The scandal only emerged publicly when Prescott's internal memo was leaked to the press, exposing what he described as the BBC's 'curious management blindspot' regarding indefensible journalistic practices.
Damian Hinds, Conservative MP for East Hampshire, questioned whether the BBC had 'a bigger truth problem', while Labour MPs complained that the scandal was being 'weaponised' by political opponents.
Shah's Defensive Testimony
Dr Shah, who took over as BBC chairman during this turbulent period, expressed regret for the journalistic errors but defended the corporation's leadership. 'I don't think the DG should have resigned,' he murmured regarding Tim Davie's departure as director-general.
His verbose responses and technical language led some observers to question his communication style, with one commentator suggesting he spoke like 'a doctor of flummery'. Shah acknowledged that BBC corporate statements could be 'rather vanilla', a comment that appeared to please the corporation's PR representative present at the hearing.
Flanking Shah during his testimony were Caroline Thomson, the BBC's senior non-executive governor and friend of Peter Mandelson, and Robbie Gibb, Theresa May's former communications chief who now serves on the BBC board. Gibb has been accused of arranging an attempted 'coup' alongside his friend Prescott.
The session was occasionally enlivened by eccentric contributions from committee members, including Labour's Rupa Huq who offered personal congratulations to participants, undermining attempts to maintain serious scrutiny of the BBC's governance crisis.
