GB News host Miriam Cates has hit out at Ofcom, exclaiming “what are you doing?” after the regulator thanked outgoing BBC executive Tim Davie for his service.
Her comments come amid a spiralling impartiality and bias row that has pushed Britain’s national broadcaster into one of its worst crises in recent years, prompting two senior BBC executives to resign.
BBC boss Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness have both quit after a bombshell memo revealed the broadcaster edited Donald Trump’s January 6 speech in a misleading way, making it look as though he had directly called for violence.
Ofcom CEO Dame Melanie Dawes issued a statement on Twitter following Tim Davie's resignation and stated: "I’d like to thank Tim Davie for his contribution as Director General of the BBC.
Miriam Cates questioned Ofcom asking 'what are you doing?'
|GB NEWS
"Over the past five years, Tim has led at a time of great change and challenge.
"The BBC is a strong and valued part of our media landscape and the BBC Board will now need to reflect on how it ensures that the BBC continues to deliver for UK audiences.”
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Speaking about the statement on GB News, Miriam fumed: "Ofcom tweeted out thanks to Tim Davies calling him 'Tim' referring to his first name Tim, after he resigned following this scandal.
"You can’t imagine someone responding that way if someone from GB News, Sky News or some other channel stepped down. What are Ofcom doing?"
GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope responded: "Yes, they have thanked Tim Davie. He resigned in part because of this scandal in Labour Panorama.
"So quite on earth why the regulator Ofcom, which may have a say in this, Miriam at some point. BBC are dealing it with themselves.
Tim Davie resigned from the BBC on Sunday | PA"But Ofcom may want to make a ruling of what happened here over editorial standards at BBC over these two issues."
Mr Davie stated that his resignation was "entirely my decision" in a statement to employees on Sunday afternoon.
He went on to say that he accepted "ultimate responsibility" for the BBC's errors in his capacity as director general.
The BBC's chair, Samir Shah, issued an apology on Monday for what he described as a "error of judgment" over the editing of President Trump's address.
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The scandal has left the US president frustrated, with him telling reporters that it is now an "obligation" to sue the BBC for defamation.
The BBC issued a major apology to Mr Trump over an edited sequence in Panorama’s 2024 programme Trump: A Second Chance? where excerpts from his January 6 speech were stitched together in a way that gave what the BBC now accepts was a “mistaken impression” that he had directly called for violence.
"Well, I think I have an obligation to do it... You can't allow people to do that," Mr Trump told Fox News.
."I guess I have to," he said, and accused the BBC of "defrauding the public [and] admitting it".