‘Blind spots’ but no institutional bias: key points after MPs question senior BBC figures | BBC

1. BBC ‘not institutionally biased’

Prescott made clear that he did not think the BBC was “institutionally biased” against any particular agenda.

But during his three years as a consultant, he said he witnessed “incipient problems” getting worse and appearing to have “systemic causes.”

“I wrote this note because I am a strong supporter of the BBC,” Prescott said. “Even today the basis of my disagreement and minor concern is that the BBC is not addressing these as systemic causes, and I hope that will change. There is real work to be done at the BBC.”

2. ‘Not a comprehensive description’ of internal reviews

One area of ​​debate is the extent to which Prescott’s memo fairly reflects internal reports on internal editorial matters prepared by David Grossman, a long-serving journalist for the BBC’s standards committee.

BBC chief Samir Shah described the Prescott memo as a “partial” and “personal” account of internal discussions.

Caroline Daniel, who, like Prescott, is a former editorial adviser to the BBC’s standards committee, said on Monday that the memo “does not provide a comprehensive view of what was in the David Grossman report”, particularly about the BBC’s Panorama documentary about Trump.

He didn’t go so far as to describe it as biased, but said it was Prescott’s “personal account.”

Prescott accepted this description of Daniel and argued that his note was never comprehensive; instead he described it as “edited highlights intended to provoke action” from the BBC board.

3. ‘No politics’ behind note or leak

Prescott insisted that “there is no ideology, no party policy here” behind his memo and that he was not behind the leak of this memo.

He said he only sent it to 14 people on the BBC board and, after failing to get a satisfactory response, senior figures at the culture and media department and Ofcom.

Prescott said he saw the memo leaked six days after he sent it to the government and the media regulator. He said he was unhappy to see it made public and suggested the Telegraph’s capture of it meant it was not received in good faith by people further to the left of the political spectrum.

When asked about his own bias, he insisted that his rating was based on a majority of internal reports drawn up unanimously by the standards committee.

He said he did not foresee the harm the note would cause and that the matter was always intended to be handled privately.

Prescott described his politics as those of a “centrist father”. He said that although they were friends, he was “not the ideological soul mate” of Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications director who sits on the BBC board and has been accused of making repeated claims of liberal bias.

4. Panorama documentary about Trump ‘not part of a bigger problem’

The most explosive aspect of the memo was the section on the BBC’s Panorama documentary about Trump.

The program was criticized for splicing together two parts of Trump’s speech; The company has since said it gave the “incorrect impression that President Trump was directly calling for violent action.”

But Prescott suggested he did not consider this the most important part of his report, saying it could have been “a freak accident or someone working under pressure.” “I don’t think it’s a bigger problem,” he said.

Prescott said he asked Grossman to conduct an internal review of the program after watching the Panorama program and comparing it to a program he thought was less critical of Kamala Harris.

But when asked if he believed the Panorama documentary damaged Trump’s reputation, as the US President claimed, Prescott said: “Probably not.”

His view may be helpful to the BBC, which set out five main arguments in a letter to Trump’s legal team as to why it does not believe there is a basis for a defamation claim.

5. Davie had ‘blind spot’ – but director general role ‘too big’ for one person

Prescott said he believed Davie was “a supreme talent” but had a “blind spot for editorial errors”.

Daniel offered a different view. He suggested that Davie’s quick response after the BBC’s live coverage of Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury, in which the band’s singer chanted “death to the IDF”, was a sign that the company had improved the way it handled editorial complaints.

But both Prescott and Daniel said they believed the job of BBC director general was too big for one person.

While Prescott suggested that there should be a managing editor working alongside the general manager, Daniel said his view was that there should be an assistant general manager.