The right-wing offensive on the BBC & David Olusoga’s Empire
The couple of weeks has seen a full on attack on the BBC by the right. Certainly mistakes have been made, but the matter goes far wider than that.
In the same week a three part series on Empire fronted by David Olusoga began airing on BBC2. It is a powerful and well documented account of the impact the British Empire historically had around the globe and the impact it still has in 2025.
Its public service broadcasting at its best and a reminder of what the right would like us to lose.
Extract from Guardian report
But another source characterised it as the culmination of a “relentless critique of BBC journalism over two years by members of the Board and advisers – all of whom come from same political persuasion”.
They point to Robbie Gibb, a former BBC editor who left to become Downing St director of communications for Theresa May and who is now a member of the Board.
The former Sun editor, now BBC presenter David Yelland has called it “nothing short of a coup”. He claims the BBC Board has been undermined and “elements close to it have worked with hostile newspaper editors, a former PM and enemies of public service broadcasting”.
But another former Sun editor, Kelvin MacKenzie, had a very different take. Speaking on the BBC News Channel, he said the resignations were “the right thing to do – this was an issue that was never going away”.
Katie Razzall: A seismic moment that shows rift at top of BBC – BBC News
Empire with David Olusoga – Series 1: Episode 1 – BBC iPlayer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002lvwh/empire-with-david-olusoga-series-1-episode-2
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