Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the must fight to restore trust after criticism that a Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by Donald Trump.
She told the Commons a review of the broadcaster’s charter would ensure a that is “genuinely accountable”, defending the broadcaster as a “national institution”.
Her comments came hours after director general Tim Davie told staff on Tuesday that “we’ve got to fight for our journalism” following the US president’s threat to sue the corporation for $1bn (£760m).
A leaked internal memo said the film misled viewers by splicing together parts of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021 and made it appear as if he had explicitly encouraged the Capitol Hill riot. The chair apologised in a statement on Monday.
Davie resigned on Sunday alongside News CEO Deborah Turness after mounting pressure over that memo.
He told staff: “We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight”, adding that “this narrative will not just be given by our enemies, it’s our narrative”.
He said the went through “difficult times… but it just does good work, and that speaks louder than any newspaper, any weaponisation”.
Later on Tuesday Nandy thanked Davie and Turness for their work leading the “through stormy times.”
She warned MPs attacking the broadcaster to “consider just what is at stake”.
She told the Commons: “There is a fundamental difference between raising serious concerns over editorial failings and members of this House launching a sustained attack on the institution itself, because the is not just a broadcaster, it is a national institution that belongs to us all.”
She added that the “has faced criticism from all sides for its coverage of highly contentious and contested issues, and [has been] accused of giving too much airtime to particular parties, and for giving them too little”.
The ‘s charter expires at the end of 2027 and the once-a-decade process of reviewing it is set to begin shortly, which she said would help it “renew its mission for the modern age”.
Nandy said there was a concern over how long the took to respond to criticisms which undermined trust.
She acknowledged the “serious concerns and failings” of the Arabic Service, that had been raised in the memo, but urged strong support for the World Service, which she said was “a light on the hill for people in places of darkness”.
figures on the corporation’s editorial guidelines and standards committee will face questions at a hearing in coming weeks.
Shah and board members Sir Robbie Gibb and Caroline Thomson are expected to attend a session called by the Commons culture, media and sport committee.
Former editorial standards advisers Michael Prescott, the author of the leaked memo, and Caroline Daniel will also be invited to give evidence.
Shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston said there are “too many examples of bias” at the and said the corporation required “institutional change”.
In a post on social media on Tuesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that while the as an institution “ought to be treasured”, it has “continually let down licence fee payers”.
Trump threatened to take legal action if the did not make a “full and fair retraction” of the Panorama programme by Friday. The corporation has said it will reply in due course.
In the staff call on Tuesday neither Davie nor the chair mentioned Trump’s legal threat.
Downing Street has said this was a “matter for the “.
“It is clearly not for the government to comment on any ongoing legal matters,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.
“Our position is clear, the is independent and it’s for the corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions.”
Asked whether there were concerns the issue would affect Sir Keir Starmer’s contacts with Trump, the spokesperson said the two had a “very strong” relationship.
The spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the should apologise directly to the president.
