David Vance SubstackRead More
It’s great to see how President Trump has struck the BBC grievous blow. Here’s the summary of what has happened and then we will get to what must happen next.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness, have resigned after a major controversy over impartiality and editorial standards in the broadcaster’s coverage of Donald Trump. The resignations followed criticism of a Panorama documentary that misleadingly edited a speech by Trump, making it appear as though he incited violence on January 6, 2021. Here is a reminder of what they did to Trump.
A leaked internal memo exposed how the speech had been splice-edited and also flagged broader failings in BBC coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict and transgender issues. The reaction was swift, with the White House calling the BBC a “propaganda machine,” and Donald Trump himself celebrating the resignations, accusing the BBC of dishonesty.
Of course Davie and Turness stated their decisions were entirely voluntary, but acknowledged errors had been made, and took ultimate responsibility for the fallout and harm done to the BBC’s reputation. While not the only reason for their departure, the editing scandal was the main catalyst that led to a crisis in confidence and forced top executives to step down in order to protect the institution’s integrity.
For quite a few years, I appeared on BBC political programmes. My own experience of the BBC was that staff were professional and biased as can be. Holding my political opinions made EVERY interview difficult but I knew that the host as well as the other contributors were visceral opposed to centre-right views and Christian values. I am sure they used me as the token “right winger” but I believe my support for Donald Trump in 2015 and my pro-Brexit views were just too much for the BBC to swallow. Plus, by that time, I was very aware of their bias and would threaten to leave interviews if they did not let me speak. Anyway, in 2016, I was banned from the BBC network with no explanation or possibility of return. Good. I hated them, they hated me.
However, there is one other thing we need to understand. The BBC uses legal threats to obtain £3.7 BILLION a year from everyone who watches live TV. The anachronism of the TV license remains. This must end. You see I do not want the BBC to be more balanced. I don’t care. But I don’t see why WE must fund that bias!
So defund the BBC and let those who want to pay for it do so.
