The BBC enters a new leadership era on Monday amid renewed scrutiny of the broadcaster's culture after a former news chief claimed she was driven out of her job by colleagues who were trans activists.
New Director-General Takes Charge
Director-general Matt Brittin takes charge at the corporation after ex director of news and current affairs Fran Unsworth said she felt forced out. She received support from viewers after claiming there was 'bullying' from trans activists inside the broadcaster.
Ms Unsworth, 68, who ran the BBC's news division from 2018 to 2022, said the atmosphere became 'increasingly unmanageable' as staff embraced what she called a 'mono-perspective' on transgender issues.
'I would actually say it drove me out,' she told her former colleague Rob Burley in a new interview published by website UnHerd. 'Just dealing with the progressive editorial issues and the bullying around them all. It was incredibly difficult.'
She said there was a 'progressive madness' sweeping through institutions across the country and alleged that news staff at the BBC who tried to challenge the prevailing consensus faced an 'awful lot of pressure' from every department. She added: 'It wasn't just the trans issue. People didn't want to hear from certain points of view; they'd 'no platform' them; all that safe-spaces s***.'
Matt Brittin's Background
Mr Brittin, 57, the former Google president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, arrives at the BBC with no broadcasting experience. His friends describe the job as 'thankless'.
The BBC faces chaos on multiple fronts, including a debate about the future of the licence fee. Scott Mills, the former Radio 2 breakfast host, is allegedly preparing to sue the corporation for unfair dismissal after he was sacked in March. The BBC discovered that an alleged victim in a police investigation involving Mills, which ran from 2016 to 2019 before being dropped because of lack of evidence, was under 16.
