Starmer and Trump did not discuss BBC Panorama fallout in call
Keir Starmer avoided bringing up the legal battle between Donald Trump and the BBC when speaking to the US president on Sunday.
The 30-minute conversation between Mr. Trump and the prime minister focused on Ukraine, sources said; Sources admitted Trump did not talk about the BBC.
Sir Keir was under pressure to intervene in the row between the White House and the BBC after he apologized for the way the US president’s speech on January 6 was covered in the Panorama program and the Newsnight report.
But as senior figures at the BBC, including chairman Samir Shah, prepare to testify about the debacle in the House of Commons today, the chairman has made clear he intends to sue the company for $1 billion.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey had called on Sir Keir to intervene to protect the BBC and a meeting between the president and prime minister had been expected for more than a week.
But sources now admit the BBC issue was not brought up by Sir Keir, instead trying to pressure the president over his controversial plans for Ukraine.
The BBC chief will join BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb and former editorial adviser Michael Prescott to answer MPs’ questions on Monday.
They will be asked questions about the company’s editorial standards guidelines in evidence sessions with the culture, media and sport committee, which start at 3.30pm.
MPs on the committee wrote to the BBC to ask about the steps it had taken after a report by Mr Prescott raised concerns that its Panorama episode contained selective editing of a speech made by Mr Trump before the attack on the US Capitol in 2021.
BBC director general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness resigned after the report was made public, while Mr Shah apologized on behalf of the BBC for an “error of judgement” and admitted the editing of the 2024 documentary gave “the impression of a direct call to violent action”.
Sir Robbie, a former senior adviser to the Conservative Party, has faced calls to be removed from the board, with creative industries union Bectu saying his position was “untenable”.
He added that he was perceived by company staff as “sympathetic to, or actively involved in, a campaign to undermine the company.” BBC and may affect its political neutrality”.
Earlier this month Sir Ed called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Sir Robbie and branded him a “fellow Conservative” in the Commons, but the prime minister refused to comment on the “individual work of the BBC”.
Sir Robbie, who served as Theresa May’s communications director, did not speak out about criticism of his role on the board.
The committee of MPs will also hear from former BBC broadcasting standards adviser Caroline Daniel and non-executive director Caroline Thomson.
Last week BBC board member Shumeet Banerji announced that he would be stepping down from his position.
