Yet again, Britain's public broadcasting company has become the news. The BBC is an immensely powerful institution and has extended its range well beyond the British Isles. Americans regard it as the second most reliable source of information after the weather forecast. At the same time, it remains almost as treasured by British voters as the National Health Service. It is affectionately known as Auntie Beeb.
However, for such a widely cherished member of the family, Auntie has some very stern critics. With each new scandal over a prominent news anchor or perceived bias, the thunder of disapproval from sections of the press and politicians gets louder. As BBC storms go, the latest is Category Five.
No one has defended the lapse in judgment that led a Panorama editor to mess with the words of Donald Trump. It wasn’t just any old speech, after all; this was the one immediately preceding the march on the Capitol, back in January of 2021. As a consequence of this blunder, committed in a programme created by October Films Ltd, the American president has demanded that the BBC apologise on pain of being sued for $1bn. The annual budget of the corporation is around £5bn.
The bad edit and cases of alleged bias were enumerated in a dossier leaked to the Telegraph newspaper, which is no fan of Auntie. The dossier was authored by Michael Prescott, an associate of one Robby Gibb, who may, depending on your point of view, be seen as the hero or the villain of the piece in what some are calling a coup.
Those who see him as a villain include Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, who has called for Gibb to go and has demanded that no further political appointments be made to the board of the BBC. Gibb was brought in by Boris Johnson who was so appalled by the bad edit, he threatened to stop paying his TV licence.
