by Gordon Rayner, Robert Mendick, Daniel Martin and Robert White, Telegraph
Vernon Bogdanor joins calls for Tim Davie to resign, saying his warnings about distorted reporting were not acted upon
The BBC has been accused of ignoring a second memo alleging bias in its reporting of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Sir Vernon Bogdanor, the author of the memo and a constitutional expert, has called on Tim Davie to resign with “immediate effect” as director-general of the BBC.
The eminent academic, a former professor of government at the University of Oxford, said the broadcaster had “ignored internal reports” that had made allegations of distortion and bias in its journalism.
Mr Davie has faced growing criticism in the wake of a leak to The Telegraph of an 8,000-word letter sent to members of the BBC board by Michael Prescott, a former standards adviser to the corporation.
The letter detailed bias in its reporting of the Gaza war as well as the doctoring of a speech by Donald Trump.
The emergence of Sir Vernon’s memo will fuel the crisis at the corporation and comes after Mr Trump’s official spokeswoman branded it “100 per cent fake news”.
Karoline Leavitt condemned the doctoring of the president’s speech and said British taxpayers were being “forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine”.
Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has also suggested Mr Davie quit his post.