EXCLUSIVE: BBC employees openly revolted against the UK broadcaster’s board during an all-staff meeting on Tuesday, according to leaked internal messages.
Deadline has been sent a 56-page document containing countless screenshots of staff comments and questions during the town hall call with BBC chair Samir Shah and director general Tim Davie. The document provides a window into staff anger over the BBC’s handling of a botched Donald Trump edit, which led to the shock resignations of Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.
Many BBC employees questioned board member Robbie Gibb’s role in the debacle, amid allegations that the former Conservative Party spin doctor staged a coup at the corporation. Gibb’s friends have said that this notion is “nonsense.”
Despite the volume of comments about Gibb, Shah and Davie were not asked directly about the board member. Instead, a more general (but still heavily upvoted) question was posed: “Do you think that the BBC board embodies and adheres to all six core BBC values that staff are required to uphold and take pride in?”
Shah snapped back, telling staff it was “disrespectful” to attack individual board members, saying they are “people who care about the BBC and its values.” Listen to the audio, obtained by Deadline, below.
Employees were enraged by Shah’s response, with at least two people saying it was “tone deaf.” A staff member added: “I feel very concerned and upset about the inference that asking a fair question is disrespectful.” Another described it as “pathetic,” while a third person quipped: “It seems we’re all horrible, disrespectful little peons.”
BBC staff message
Others openly called on Shah to resign after he took a week to publicly respond to concerns about Panorama’s edit of Trump’s January 6 speech, for which the U.S. president is now threatening to sue the BBC for $1B. Shah told employees he “shared that frustration” about the delayed response, but said he needed to take his time to get the facts straight on complicated matters.
BBC staff message
As well as the anger at Shah, there were numerous questions about Gibb, who was installed on the BBC board in 2021 by Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister. He is one of a handful of political appointees on the 12-strong board.
Gibb has served on the BBC board’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, where he worked alongside external advisor Michael Prescott. Prescott penned the excoriating memo that is ground zero for this crisis. He exposed the Trump edit and skewered the BBC’s perceived anti-Israel and pro-trans rights bias.
Many felt their questions about Gibb were deliberately ignored by BBC moderators.
BBC staff message
“I find Robbie Gibb’s continued presence at the BBC to be incredibly demoralising. It feels as if he is fighting against and undermining the work we’re trying to do,” one person wrote. Others called for him to resign or be removed by the Labour government. One staffer said Gibb should have no involvement in the appointment of the BBC’s next director general.
BBC staff message
An anonymous poster added: “There’s a clear difference between having different views represented, and having a majority right-wing board heavy-handedly targeting and intimidating journalists within the organisation. Almost all of the journalists targeted by the memo were from minority groups, is that a coincidencе?”
It was not all bad news for Gibb. “What is the problem that everyone seems to have with Robbie Gibb? Shouldn’t there be a broad range of people on the board?” one insider asked. Another person slammed colleagues for “whining” about Gibb, arguing it was evidence that the BBC was “busted and biased.”
BBC staff message
Employees were also critical of the board in general. “I have no confidence in the board to look after and defend the BBC, not after this,” observed a staff member. Another made the governance suggestion of having licence fee payers represented among directors — a suggestion that could come up during charter renewal.
BBC employees are rarely shy about challenging their leaders, but insiders said the strength of feeling on the town hall call was unusually high. Some came away with the impression that Shah was under real pressure, and there is a feeling that a loss of confidence in the chair could damage the BBC’s chances of attracting a capable director general.
The BBC was approached for comment.
