🔗 Share this article British Broadcasting Corporation Resignations Described as Inside 'Coup' by Former Newspaper Editor The recent resignations of the British Broadcasting Corporation's director general and its head of news over claims of bias have been portrayed as an inside "takeover" by a ex media executive. David Yelland, who formerly ran the Sun publication from 1998 to 2003, stated during a broadcast that the exits of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness came after methodical undermining by individuals associated with the corporation's leadership over an prolonged timeframe. "It constituted a coup, and worse than that, it represented an internal operation. There existed people within the corporation, extremely connected to the leadership ... on the governing body, who have systematically undermined Tim Davie and his senior team over a period of [time] and this has been ongoing for a long time. What transpired yesterday didn't just happen in isolation," the former editor commented. Governance Failure Highlighted "What has transpired here is there existed a failure of governance. I don't hold responsible the chairman [Samir Shah] as an person, but the role of the leader of any organization, a company – including the BBC – is to keep their CEO, their senior executive, in role or dismiss them. And that has failed to happen, because Tim Davie hadn't been fired. He stepped down and so there existed, that is the definition of, a failure of governance." Background of Recent Controversy The departures on Sunday followed days of criticism from the U.S. administration and conservative commentators in the UK that were triggered by allegations reported by the Daily Telegraph. The publication reported a unauthorized record of the findings of a previous outside consultant to its editorial guidelines panel, Michael Prescott, who departed his role during the summer. He had criticized the modification of a speech by Donald Trump in an edition of Panorama, which he claimed made it appear that Trump had supported the US Capitol incident. Two portions of the address that were spliced together were spoken an hour apart, and the modification did not note that Trump had additionally stated he wanted his followers to protest non-violently. Inside Responses and Outside Viewpoints Yelland's criticisms mirror a sentiment of dismay described by insiders within BBC News on Sunday night, with one saying: "It feels like a coup. This represents the result of a campaign by political enemies of the BBC." Different voices, encompassing Sky's previous policy correspondent Adam Boulton, have claimed the general perception that Trump encouraged the event was fundamentally true. It is common procedure to combine sections of a lengthy speech to accurately condense it. Handover Plans and Organizational Impact Davie indicated his exit would not be instant and that he was "working through" timings to guarantee an "orderly handover" over the coming months. Turness stated dispute around the Panorama edit had "reached a stage where it is creating harm to the BBC – an institution that I value." On Monday, the BBC journalist Nick Robinson stated there had been inaction at the highest levels of the BBC because, while its experienced reporters wanted to express regret for the editing error – but maintain there was "no intention to deceive" the viewers – the government-selected leaders preferred to take additional steps. Political Response and Wider Perspective Shah is expected to express regret on Monday to the Commons' culture, media and sport committee, and to supply additional information on the Panorama program in his reply to the panel, which had requested how he would address the issues. Speaking after the resignations, the government minister Louise Sandher-Jones dismissed claims the BBC was institutionally biased. The public service official told Sky News: "When you examine the vast range of domestic matters, regional issues, international issues, that it has to cover, I think its output is highly respected. When I speak to people who've got very strongly held opinions on those, they're continuing using the BBC for much of their information, it's forming their views on this."