The latest resignations of the British Broadcasting Corporation's director general and its news chief over claims of bias have been portrayed as an inside "takeover" by a former newspaper editor.
David Yelland, who previously ran the Sun publication from 1998 to 2003, stated during a broadcast that the exits of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness came after methodical weakening by individuals close to the BBC board over an prolonged period.
"It was a coup, and more serious than that, it was an internal operation. There were people inside the organization, very close to the board ... serving on the board, who have methodically weakened Tim Davie and his executive staff over a period of [time] and this has been continuing for a long time. What transpired recently wasn't merely in isolation," Yelland commented.
"What has transpired here is there was a breakdown of governance. I don't hold responsible the chairman [Samir Shah] as an individual, but the responsibility of the leader of any institution, a corporation – encompassing the BBC – is to maintain their chief executive, their top leader, in position or dismiss them. And that has not occurred, because Tim Davie was not dismissed. He resigned and so there existed, that is the essence of, a breakdown of governance."
The resignations on Sunday followed period of criticism from the White House and conservative pundits in the UK that were triggered by allegations reported by the Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper disclosed a leaked record of the findings of a former independent external adviser to its editorial guidelines committee, Michael Prescott, who departed his role during the summer.
He had criticized the editing of a speech by Donald Trump in an edition of Panorama, which he asserted made it seem that Trump had encouraged the US Capitol incident. Two sections of the speech that were combined together were delivered an hour apart, and the modification failed to mention that Trump had also said he wanted his followers to demonstrate non-violently.
Yelland's comments mirror a mood of concern reported by sources within BBC News on Sunday evening, with one stating: "It feels like a takeover. This is the outcome of a campaign by political opponents of the BBC."
Others, including Sky's previous policy correspondent Adam Boulton, have claimed the overall impression that Trump encouraged the insurrection was essentially true. It is not unusual practice to edit together sections of a long speech to properly condense it.
Davie indicated his departure would not be immediate and that he was "managing" scheduling to guarantee an "orderly transition" over the coming months. Turness commented dispute around the Panorama edit had "arrived at a point where it is causing damage to the BBC – an organization that I love."
On Monday, the BBC reporter Nick Robinson revealed there had been paralysis at the top of the BBC because, while its experienced reporters desired to express regret for the editing error – but insist there was "no plan to deceive" the viewers – the politically appointed directors preferred to take additional steps.
Shah is expected to apologize on Monday to the Commons' culture, media and sport committee, and to supply further details on the Panorama episode in his reply to the committee, which had requested how he would handle the issues.
Speaking after the resignations, the cabinet official Louise Sandher-Jones dismissed claims the BBC was institutionally biased. The veterans minister stated Sky News: "When you examine the vast spectrum of national issues, regional concerns, international affairs, that it has to report, I think its content is highly trusted. When I converse with individuals who've got very strongly held views on those, they're still using the BBC for much of their news, it's shaping their views on this."
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