Tim Davie defends BBC against ‘weaponisation’ of criticism

Tim Davie has hit out at the “weaponisation” of criticisms of the BBC, as he addressed staff after his shock resignation as its director general. Thanking staff for their support, Davie reassured them that the narrative around the corporation “will not just be given by our enemies” after a week in which senior politicians have accused it of systemic bias in its reporting. “I do hear everyone when we have to be very clear and stand up for our journalism,” he said. “We are in a unique and pressure organisation. I see the free press under pressure. I see the weaponisation. I think we’ve got a fight for our journalism. I’m really proud of our work. Related: Tuesday briefing: What the BBC’s new crisis reveals about its failures – and future “I’m fiercely proud of this organisation. There are difficult times it goes through, but it just does good work. That speaks – it speaks louder than any newspaper. Any weaponisation. We are the very best of what I think we should be as a society and that will never change.” It follows days of criticism of the BBC after criticisms raised in a memo by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee. He left that role in the summer. It included an edit of a Donald Trump speech on Panorama that Davie and others regard as a serious breach. Prescott’s allegations were leaked to the Daily Telegraph and reported over a week. Figures on the right including Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Liz Truss have used the findings to attack Davie, the licence fee and the future of the BBC as it is currently constructed. “Others want to run our narrative,” Davie said. “The amazing work locally, globally, that we’re doing is utterly precious. We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight for that and I’m fiercely proud of that and don’t let anyone stop you thinking that we are doing a fantastic job. We’ve actually grown trust, so let’s get that narrative out there.” Davie said mistakes had been made and that taking responsibility was part of his decision to leave, as well as the cumulative effect of doing the job. He said he had “a few barnacles on me” from dealing with the various issues that have hit his leadership of the BBC over the last year.