Director General Tim Davie and Chair Samir Shah will appear
before the Culture, Media and Sport
Committee in September for a session on the work of
the BBC, including editorial standards and decision making, and
the corporation's workplace culture.
The pair will be asked about the internal review
of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which concluded
today that the documentary breached editorial guidelines on
accuracy, by failing to disclose information about the child
narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government.
Chair of the CMS Committee, Dame MP, said: “As
the BBC admitted to us, this has been a hugely damaging episode
when it comes to the broadcaster's reputation for trust and
impartiality. Today's report shows once again how there is a
desperate need for more senior oversight of editorial decision
making and enforcement of standards across the corporation.
The BBC's focus on introducing more stringent scrutiny to prevent
a repeat of such errors is welcome, as its commitment to
accountability. It's crucial that those in charge get on top of
the flaws in the editorial process, which overwise risk
overshadowing the vital work that the BBC does in telling the
stories that people need to hear.
Our session will be a chance for the leadership of the BBC to
demonstrate that they are tackling the issues that have been
raised over the past few weeks head on and have a serious plan to
ensure that the broadcaster maintains the trust of the public.”
The Committee wrote to Mr Davie at the
start of the month over its coverage of Glastonbury to
asks about editorial and decision-making processes and whether
consideration was given to broadcasting with a
delay. The BBC's response to the
letter is published today. MPs are likely to explore the
broadcaster's response during the session.
The corporation's leadership will also face questions on how it
dealt with complaints and allegations relating to MasterChef
presenter Gregg Wallace. Production company Banijay this morning
published a report into his behaviour. Dame
Caroline called on both Banijay and
the BBC to raise their game to ensure their complaints process is
robust enough to inspire confidence in both staff and
freelancers.
The Committee regularly hears from the senior leadership of the
BBC as part of its scrutiny of the broadcaster. The session is
also expected to cover the forthcoming BBC Annual Report and
Accounts and Ofcom's Public Service Media Review, as well as
looking ahead to the BBC Charter Review.
The session is due to take place on 9 September.
