The Culture Secretary addressed the House of Commons in the wake of Tim Davie’s and Deborah Turness’s resignations
November 12, 2025 11:54
The Culture Secretary has acknowledged the “serious concerns and failings” of the BBC’s Arabic news service, though rejected claims that the corporation is institutionally biased.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Lisa Nandy said that although the “concerns that have been raised are serious in and of themselves”, that would not affect Government support for the broadcaster’s World Service, which she described as a “light on the hill for people in places of darkness”.
Nandy was addressing Parliament following the resignation of the BBC’s director general Sir Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness in the wake of a leaked report that criticised the BBC’s editorial decisions on topics including US President Donald Trump the Gaza war and transgender issues.
“Those in the House, from left and right, who are attacking the BBC for not expressing views with which they agree should consider just what is at stake. There is a fundamental difference between raising serious concerns about editorial failings, and Members of this House launching a sustained attack on the institution itself”, she told MPs.
Responding, the shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddlestone accused the broadcaster of a lack of impartiality when it came to certain issues.
He said the BBC had “strayed far from its editorial guidelines, including in its coverage of trans rights, its selective push notifications [texts alerting readers to breaking news] ... in the Gaza documentary, in the output of the Arabic news service, and in its reliance on [statistics] provided by Hamas. All those things speak to bias at the BBC.
“At a time when antisemitism is rising around the world, the BBC should surely think twice about distributing questionable data from a terrorist organisation bent on the destruction of Israel. We expect better from our national broadcaster”, he told the Commons.
The Conservative frontbencher went on to press Nandy about the funding arrangements for BBC Arabic, currently funded – along with the BBC World Service – through a Foreign Office grant, and asked what discussions she had had with the department “about the impact that the BBC’s editorial failings have had on Israel and our partners in the Middle East”.
He added: “Action must be taken, and the serious issues discussed today must be addressed, because the BBC must once again become an institution of which all of us, not just some of us, can be proud.”
Nandy answered: “It is important to recognise that there have been serious concerns and failings on the part of the BBC Arabic service”, and went on to refer to a letter from the BBC’s chair, Dr Samir Shah, to the Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in which he outlined planned measures including “structural changes, as well as staff changes”.
However, she rejected any suggestion that the failings of BBC Arabic would affect government support for the BBC World Service: “The World Service is a light on the hill for people in places of darkness, of which there are many in the world at the moment. This Government strongly support the World Service and will continue to do so.”
In the debate following the statement, Hertsmere MP Sir Oliver Dowden, himself a former culture secretary, paid tribute to Davie, who he said he found “helpful on issues such as antisemitism”.
However, he attacked what he claimed to be the “overwhelmingly metropolitan outlook” of people who work for the BBC, accusing them of obsessing “about issues such as Black Lives Matter and Palestine in a way that suburban and provincial England does not obsess”.
Some Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs were keen to attack BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb – a former JC director, head of BBC Westminster and editor of live political programmes at the broadcaster – who also served as Theresa May’s director of communications.
Labour MP Sarah Owen suggested it was “time to review the influence of former Conservative spin doctor Robbie Gibb on the BBC’s board”.
Nandy responded by saying that the BBC’s “charter sets a strict legal threshold that must be met before dismissal of a board member” so would be unable to take such action.
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