The biggest union among BBC employees has demanded that Sir Robbie Gibb is removed from the corporation’s board.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has meanwhile insisted that the broadcaster believes itself to be safe from claims of defamation.
Writing to her and Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC board, on Friday, the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) claimed that their members are concerned about the organisation’s ability to resist political pressure and “uphold the integrity of its journalism”.
The letter comes after BBC’s director-general Tim Davie and chief executive Deborah Turness resigned amid concerns about the BBC’s impartiality, including how a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama last year.
BECTU said it was vital that both the government and the BBC board are “truly committed to the future of the organisation, its mission, its independence and its values”.
To achieve this, they said, Sir Robbie Gibb – who worked as Theresa May’s director of communications after a career at the corporation – should be removed from the broadcaster’s board.
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They continued: “We simply do not see how staff can have faith in the BBC’s leadership while a crucial position on the board is filled by someone perceived by many staff and external commentators as sympathetic to, or actively part of, a campaign to undermine the BBC and influence its political impartiality.”
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Since his appointment, Sir Robbie has faced opposition due to his ties to the Conservative party.
The Guardian has reported that sources told the publication he had “led the charge” against Mr Davie, helping force his resignation through a “coup”.
A friend of Sir Robbie’s suggested to Deadline that the coup theory was “absolute nonsense”, however.
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Nandy said she had been speaking “daily, frequently” to the chairman of the BBC board, the director general and senior staff members regarding the fallout from the edit of Trump’s speech.
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She claimed: “They have consulted lawyers and are absolutely confident that they, are protected against defamation.”
The BBC revealed on Thursday that Mr Shah had personally written to Donald Trump to apologise for the way in which his speech was cut.
In a message to staff at the corporation, he said that the national broadcaster was coming to the end of a “difficult week” for its staff.
“I’m aware there is sadness, anger and frustration in relation to what has happened in recent days and it is hard when the BBC is the focus of so much attention and news headlines,” he wrote.
Work to reflect on staff concerns had already begun, Mr Shah claimed, before adding that he was “fiercely proud” of the BBC’s “world-class journalism”.
He continued: “I refute any suggestion that there is institutional bias at the BBC.
“I know I speak for the whole Board when I say how hugely impressed I am by your resilience and focus, particularly this week, on delivering outstanding content for our audiences.”
