Finance
Explainer-BBC crisis: What caused it and what happens next?
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 11, 2025
5 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 11, 2025
5 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
The BBC is in crisis after leadership resignations over bias claims. An internal memo and funding challenges add to the turmoil.
By Kate Holton and Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) -The BBC is battling its biggest crisis in decades after its two most senior leaders resigned over accusations of bias that have prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten legal action for "no less" than $1 billion unless he gets compensation.
On Monday the BBC apologised for a Panorama documentary which spliced together two parts of a Trump speech on January 6, 2021, the day his supporters stormed the Capitol, creating the impression he had called for violence.
Below are details on how the crisis came about, how the BBC is funded and governed, and how a new director general will be selected.
AN INTERNAL MEMO SEIZED ON BY CRITICS
The scandal was sparked by the leaking of an internal memo from a former standards adviser that listed what he said were failings in the BBC's coverage of Trump, the Israel-Hamas war, and transgender rights.
The memo by Michael Prescott, a former Sunday Times political editor, set out what he said was a series of editorial failings that showed systemic left-wing bias at the BBC.
Prescott was an external adviser to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee that oversees coverage, compliance and complaints.
His memo to the BBC board was leaked to the right-wing Daily Telegraph, and seized on by critics and rivals who object to the BBC's perceived liberal stance and public funding.
The BBC took a week to respond, creating an impression of paralysis in the face of a barrage of criticism.
Its media correspondent, Katie Razzall, and one of its top political presenters, Nick Robinson, said there had been a clash between news managers and the board: the former wanted to apologise over the Trump edit while the latter argued that a broader problem with institutionalised bias needed tackling.
Robinson pointed the finger at board member Robbie Gibb, a spokesman for Theresa May when she was Conservative prime minister. Robinson said Gibb had argued the BBC had systemic failings. Gibb did not respond to a request for comment.
Jon Sopel, formerly the BBC's North America editor, said on his podcast on Monday that Gibb had pursued complaints of a left-wing bias in the BBC's output, but never a right-wing bias, as alleged by some on the left over its coverage of Israel.
The BBC press office declined to comment.
WHAT HAS THE BBC SAID?
BBC Chair Samir Shah said it was "fanciful" to suggest a hostile board had engineered the resignations of Director General Tim Davie and the head of news, Deborah Turness.
In a letter to lawmakers on Monday, he also said the BBC had not buried examples of failings. It had published corrections, changed guidance and leadership and carried out formal disciplinary measures when problems were found, he said.
He said Prescott's memo had only given a partial description of issues, but he added that he had instigated a review of the standards board, well before he received Prescott's memo.
GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW HOW TO FUND BBC
The BBC is funded by a licence fee paid by all television-watching households in Britain. In 2024/25, it brought in 3.8 billion pounds ($5.1 billion), while commercial income took total revenue to 5.9 billion pounds.
The BBC's funding is detailed in its latest 10-year royal charter that is due to expire in 2027. The government will set out options for different funding models by the end of this year, as it becomes harder to defend the licence when many viewers are turning to Netflix and other streaming platforms.
The number of people paying the licence fee has been steadily dropping - it was 23.8 million by the end of its last financial year, down from 25.3 million two years ago.
PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTER
The BBC, which is a client of Reuters, is both the most trusted and most-used news provider in Britain, surveys show.
Its news reaches 67% of all adults across TV, radio and online, media regulator Ofcom said in July, although its reach has fallen by 11 percentage points since 2019.
A snap YouGov survey on Monday showed half of those queried believed the BBC was politically biased, although they split along party lines. Some 31% said it was generally biased in favour of left-wing views, while 19% said it favoured the right.
WHO SELECTS THE NEW BOSS, AND WHO IS IN THE RUNNING
The 14-strong board will select a new director general.
Five of the non-execs are chosen by the government, including the chair.
Contenders to replace Davie include Charlotte Moore, a former BBC Chief Content Officer. She is CEO of Left Bank Pictures and has a senior role at Sony Pictures Television.
Jay Hunt, a former controller of BBC One and executive at Channel 4 and Channel 5, has also been suggested. She is currently creative director, Europe, Worldwide Video at Apple.
Other names in the frame include Alex Mahon, a former head of Channel 4 who is running an events business, and ITV CEO Carolyn McCall. Jane Turton, the head of All3Media, is also seen as a possible candidate.
($1 = 0.7451 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Mark Heinrich)
BBC funding primarily comes from a license fee paid by UK households that watch live television or use the BBC's iPlayer service. This fee supports the BBC's operations and programming.
A financial crisis is a situation in which the value of financial institutions or assets drops rapidly, often leading to widespread economic instability, loss of savings, and increased unemployment.
Governance refers to the frameworks, rules, and processes that guide an organization's decision-making and operations, ensuring accountability, fairness, and transparency.
The director general is the chief executive officer of an organization, responsible for overseeing operations, implementing policies, and ensuring the organization meets its strategic objectives.
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