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Shumeet Banerji, who recently stepped down as a non-executive member of the BBC board, has made his resignation letter public, offering new insight into the circumstances leading to the resignations of the BBC’s director general and news chief. Banerji, who quit last Friday, had originally cited “governance issues” as his reason for leaving, but the full context only emerged with the release of his letter. In it, he reveals that Deborah Turness, the head of news, was informed she “did not have the confidence of a majority of the board.” However, Banerji expressed frustration at being excluded from any meetings where such critical matters were discussed.
The revelations emerged shortly after BBC chairman Samir Shah told a parliamentary select committee that he believed Banerji had been consulted, pointing to a 26-minute phone call they had on the subject. Banerji, reflecting on the hearing, said his resignation letter was intended to clarify his reasons for resigning and to correct potential misunderstandings among committee members and the public. The departures of Tim Davie, the director general, and Deborah Turness came in the wake of controversy over a Panorama episode that improperly edited parts of a 2021 speech by former US President Donald Trump. This controversy was triggered by a leaked memo from Michael Prescott, a former external adviser, which sparked broader questions about how the BBC board operates.
Banerji’s letter challenges the official account given by Shah, detailing two board meetings held in response to the leaked memo controversy. Banerji missed the first meeting but attended the second, where he was taken aback to learn that Turness had already been told she lacked the board’s confidence. He wrote that at no point was he invited to any discussion of such importance, nor did Shah’s office seek an urgent meeting to clarify the situation. Banerji emphasized that a board’s purpose is to conduct informed and reasoned debates on significant issues—a process he argued was missing in this case. He also suggested that while Shah might have polled board members individually, this did not substitute for collective deliberation.
Furthermore, Banerji expressed understanding of Davie’s decision to resign, interpreting the vote of no confidence in Turness as a personal blow to him as CEO and editor-in-chief. He criticized the board’s response, describing it as reactionary and driven by intense media pressure. Banerji questioned whether the loss of two senior executives would ultimately benefit the BBC, expressing skepticism about the corporation’s future strength. The publication of the letter has intensified scrutiny of Shah’s leadership, especially after Caroline Dinenage, chair of the culture committee, publicly questioned if the BBC was “in safe hands” under his chairmanship. This letter also sheds light on internal tensions within the BBC board and confirms reports that the board had prevented an apology from the news division over the Trump footage controversy, contributing to a fractured atmosphere at the corporation
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