A BBC board member has resigned over ‘governance issues’ at the top of the embattled corporation.
Shumeet Banerji stepped down after claiming he was ‘not consulted’ about the events leading up to the departure of director-general, Tim Davie, and Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News.
The scandal-hit BBC confirmed on Friday that Mr Banerji, who was appointed to the board in January 2022, had resigned.
‘Mr Banerji’s term on the Board as a non-executive director was due to end at the end of December and we thank him for his service,’ a BBC spokesperson said.
‘The search for a replacement is already well under way and we will update further in due course.’
The latest blow to the BBC comes weeks after Mr Davie dramatically resigned following a row over the doctoring of a Panorama documentary on Donald Trump.
Banerji’s resignation over ‘governance issues’ suggests he has levelled direct criticism at chairman Samir Shah and other members of the board.
The technology executive’s departure comes just days before board members Sir Robbie Gibb and Caroline Thomson will give evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MPs.
Shumeet Banerji has resigned over ‘governance issues’ at the top of the embattled BBC
Shumeet Banerji stepped down after claiming he was ‘not consulted’ about the events leading up to the departure of director-general, Tim Davie
Mr Banerji, founder of Condorcet LP, an advisory and investment firm, has been a non-executive director since 2022.
He was ‘responsible for upholding and protecting the independence of the BBC by acting in the public interest and exercising independent judgement.’
The board, which is made up of 12 members, is responsible for the broadcaster’s strategic direction.
Non-executive members hold the BBC’s executive management to account.
Mr Davie and Ms Turness stepped down after an internal dossier exposed a string of incidents that demonstrated serious apparent bias in the Corporation’s coverage on issues including the Israel-Gaza conflict and transgender rights.
The corporation is also facing a $1bn lawsuit from the US president who demanded a retraction, an apology and compensation after the documentary suggested Mr Trump had made a ‘direct call for violent action’ as two separate sections of his speech in the run-up to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, were spliced together in a 12-second clip.
The broadcaster said the splicing of the speech was an ‘error of judgment’ but refused to pay financial compensation.
The edit was brought to public attention after a leaked report from former editorial standards advisor Michael Prescott, which raised concerns about the Panorama programme Trump: A Second Chance?.
The programme was broadcast a week before the US election in November 2024.
Mr Banerji’s resignation comes at a challenging time for the BBC, as it faces calls to lose its funding from the licence fee.
