🔗 Share this article British Broadcasting Corporation Resignations Described as Inside 'Coup' by Ex Media Executive The latest departures of the BBC's chief executive and its news chief over claims of partiality have been portrayed as an inside "coup" by a ex media executive. David Yelland, who formerly edited the Sun newspaper from 1998 to 2003, stated during a radio program that the exits of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness came after systematic undermining by individuals close to the corporation's leadership over an prolonged period. "It constituted a takeover, and more serious than that, it represented an internal operation. There existed people inside the organization, very close to the board ... on the governing body, who have methodically undermined Tim Davie and his executive staff over a period of [time] and this has been continuing for a long time. What occurred yesterday wasn't merely in vacuum," the former editor remarked. Leadership Breakdown Highlighted "What has occurred here is there existed a failure of leadership. I don't blame the leader [Samir Shah] as an person, but the responsibility of the leader of any institution, a corporation – encompassing the BBC – is to keep their chief executive, their top leader, in role or terminate them. And that has not occurred, because Tim Davie hadn't been fired. He resigned and so there was, that is the definition of, a breakdown of leadership." Context of Latest Controversy The departures on Sunday followed period of attacks from the White House and conservative commentators in the UK that were prompted by claims published by the Daily Telegraph. The publication disclosed a leaked record of the conclusions of a previous outside consultant to its editorial guidelines committee, Michael Prescott, who departed his role during the warmer months. He had criticized the editing of a speech by Donald Trump in an edition of Panorama, which he claimed made it appear that Trump had supported the US Capitol attack. Two portions of the speech that were spliced together were spoken an sixty minutes apart, and the modification did not note that Trump had also stated he desired his followers to protest non-violently. Internal Responses and Outside Viewpoints Yelland's criticisms echo a sentiment of dismay reported by sources within BBC News on Sunday evening, with one stating: "It seems like a coup. This represents the result of a campaign by political opponents of the BBC." Others, encompassing Sky's former political editor Adam Boulton, have stated the overall perception that Trump encouraged the insurrection was essentially true. It is not unusual practice to edit together segments of a long address to accurately summarize it. Transition Arrangements and Organizational Impact Davie indicated his departure would not be instant and that he was "working through" scheduling to ensure an "orderly handover" over the following months. Turness commented dispute around the Panorama edit had "reached a point where it is causing damage to the BBC – an organization that I value." On Monday, the BBC journalist Nick Robinson revealed there had been paralysis at the highest levels of the BBC because, while its experienced reporters wanted to apologize for the editing error – but maintain there was "no intention to deceive" the viewers – the politically appointed leaders preferred to take additional steps. Political Response and Wider Perspective Shah is expected to express regret on Monday to the Commons' culture, media and sport committee, and to supply additional information on the Panorama program in his reply to the panel, which had requested how he would address the issues. Speaking after the resignations, the government minister Louise Sandher-Jones rejected suggestions the BBC was systematically partial. The veterans minister told Sky News: "When you look at the vast range of domestic issues, local concerns, international affairs, that it has to cover, I think its output is very trusted. When I converse with individuals who've got very strongly held opinions on those, they're continuing using the BBC for a lot of their news, it's forming their views on this."