BBC Director General Tim Davie admitted there could be more scandals of high-profile presenters abusing their position telling MPs: “We may see more things coming out.”
Mr Davie faced a tough grilling today from MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee who questioned him on recent BBC controversies.
Over the past year, the BBC has faced fierce criticism for its handling of former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards, former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, and its coverage of Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury.
He will also face questions over a report that found the BBC failed to disclose the child narrator’s father’s role within the Hamas-run Government in its documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
Speaking to the committee, Mr Davie said: “I think things have changed since we last talked to the committee, we are seeing people call it out, and that is a positive change, but it’s ongoing work.
Tim Davie admitted that more scandals are to come | POOL “I don’t think you can change culture in six months and suddenly say nothing’s going to occur.
“We may see more things coming out, because in some ways I’m asking for it.
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"Being utterly transparent and running towards the problem, that’s what we need to do.”
He refused to comment on whether further scandals over workplace behaviour and abuses of power could be emerging at the BBC.
Mr Davie said he would not be providing a “running commentary” on whistleblowing, adding: “I don’t think it’s right for me to talk about the specifics of what the whistleblowing team are dealing with day to day.”
He was asked if he had considered resigning over the summer, with Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage brutally questioning him on the "fairly bumpy" season for the corporation.
She said: "As well as warm words, what we really want to hear from you is clarity and decisiveness about the action and accountability the BBC is going to deliver moving forward.”
He said: “This is not a job for the faint-hearted. What has been on my mind is dealing with the issues.”
He acknowledged the issues the BBC faces are “serious” and said he is “ensuring the BBC is taking the right actions, I’ve been totally focused on that”.
He added: “If I said I wasn’t feeling the pressure, I would be inhuman.”
Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage brutally questioning him on the 'fairly bumpy' season for the corporation.
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Mr Davie was also questioned on a performance by punk duo Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, during which rapper Bobby Vylan chanted "Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces.)"
The controversial set was live-streamed by the BBC, drawing fury from across the political spectrum.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick blasted at the time how "the BBC's producers would have known about Bob Vylan's hate-filled lyrics".
Discussing this controversy with MPs today, Mr Davie said it was a “very significant mistake”, saying it was “antisemitic” and “deeply disturbing."
He said: “I don’t think I misread it, I just got there when I heard about it (at) about five o’clock … the performance was well done by then, and at that point I knew absolutely that it was an antisemitic broadcast.
“So, my decision to get that off on demand, simple as that, I mean, it wasn’t too complicated in my mind, and to your point, I do think it was deeply disturbing, deeply disturbing.
“I mean, personally, I’ve talked to many people about this, I thought was deeply disturbing what happened, I mean the BBC made a very significant mistake, very significant, in broadcasting that.
“But you know the fact that those words were broadcast to that broad audience, it was frankly to your point it was disturbing.”
BBC's 'Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone' 'documentary' was narrated by the son of Hamas's deputy agriculture minister Ayman Alyazouri | BBCAsked about the documentary, Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone, that breached editorial guidelines on accuracy Mr Davie said: “There are people who are facing consequences.”
He added: “It was a bad mistake, I think the report also says HOYO Films not disclosing that information was important to us.”
BBC chairman Samir Shad said: “It was a real mistake, what [the report] found was that we were not open and transparent about the relationship of the narrator to a Hamas official, really does go straight to heart of the BBC’s reputational risk in terms of being impartial and trustworthy.
“It was a sin of omission, which is just as serious as a sin of commission.”
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