The BBC is facing a coordinated, politically motivated attack. With these resignations, it's given in | Jane Martinson

"Now the resignations of both Davie and the CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, have shown that baying for blood gets results. The biggest shock is that this saga began just a week ago with the leak of a 19-page devastating memo from Michael Prescott, a former political journalist who spent three years as an external adviser to the broadcaster, published in the Telegraph."

"The Telegraph wrote that the BBC's very silence proves there is a serious problem. Meanwhile, the former UK prime minister Boris Johnson's blast at Nick Robinson, the only BBC staffer to publicly fight back against the accusations, leads the Mail on Sunday, and Donald Trump's press secretary has called the BBC 100% fake news Leave to one side for now the direct allegations about specific failures of BBC coverage, and the BBC's own baffling inability or unwillingness to defend itself over the past week."

Tim Davie resigned as BBC director general amid accusations of bias, and Deborah Turness resigned as CEO of BBC News. A 19-page memo by Michael Prescott, a former political journalist and external adviser, alleged Panorama doctored a Trump speech, Arabic coverage privileged pro-Hamas views, and a group of LGBTQ employees had excessive influence on coverage of sex and gender. The memo was published in the Telegraph and provoked coordinated attacks from rightwing press and politicians. The BBC offered little public defence, silence was portrayed as evidence of problems, and the episode has created a leadership vacuum while raising questions about politically motivated campaigns against impartial journalism.

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