Banerji criticises BBC board over resignations of Davie and Turness

A former BBC board member who resigned last week has said he followed director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness in stepping down as it was “incomprehensible” that the board could “still hold itself in high regard” after their departure.

Shumeet Banerji announced he would be leaving on Friday, less than two weeks after Mr Davie and Ms Turness resigned from their roles.

In the letter, Mr Banerji said he was “not consulted” about the events which led up to their resignations, following a series of scandals at the BBC.

His full letter of resignation, published by MPs on Wednesday, said it was “incomprehensible to me that a board should lose” its top executives “in a short period of time… and still hold itself in high regard”.

Mr Banerji wrote: “I am resigning because I will not be seen as a participant in a board decision on which I was not consulted, nor one which in my view has had adequate discussion.”

​​Mr Davie and Ms Turness resigned following a series of scandals at the BBC, including a Panorama episode which selectively edited a speech made by US President Donald Trump before the attack on the US Capitol in 2021.

This was prompted by a leaked memo to the board sent by former external adviser Michael Prescott, which also highlighted concerns about impartiality at the BBC.

Mr Banerji said the memo had been “duly and predictably leaked to the press”.

He said he had been “surprised” to hear Ms Turness was told “that she did not have the confidence of a majority of the board”.

He said Mr Davie would have subsequently seen the board’s lack of confidence in his head of news as “a direct assault on himself as the editor-in-chief and CEO”.

Mr Banerji’s letter said he therefore did “not regard Tim’s decision as surprising”, adding that he had viewed Mr Davie as an “exceptional, ethical and values-driven leader”.

He concluded his letter: “Will the departures of two of our most senior, respected and loved executives make the BBC stronger? I doubt it, very much.”

The chairman of the BBC Board, Samir Shah, said on Tuesday that he believed he had consulted Mr Banerji during a 26-minute phone call.

He told a select committee of MPs that he was “disappointed and surprised” by Mr Banerji’s claims.

A BBC spokesman previously said Mr Banerji’s term on the board as a non-executive director was due to end at the end of December and the search for a replacement was already under way.