Newslinks Monday 10th November 2025

BBC bosses quit in bias scandal

“The BBC is facing its worst crisis in more than a decade after its director-general and its head of news resigned over The Telegraph’s revelations about bias at the broadcaster. Tim Davie and Deborah Turness quit on Sunday evening over the “serious and systemic” problems highlighted by an internal whistleblower, which included the doctoring of a speech by Donald Trump. Senior MPs have said the BBC must now undergo a major shake-up and Mr Davie’s successor will need to “restore trust” in the corporation after it ebbed away under his leadership. Other senior staff, including Jonathan Munro, the global head of news content, are also under pressure to leave, in what is seen as the BBC’s worst crisis since the Jimmy Savile scandal in 2012. Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, said it was right that Mr Davie and Ms Turness had “finally taken responsibility” but said The Telegraph’s disclosures – including problems with the BBC’s coverage of the war in Gaza and of the transgender debate – had “exposed institutional bias that cannot be swept away with two resignations”. She said: “Strong action must be taken on all the issues it raised. The culture at the BBC has not yet changed. BBC Arabic must be brought under urgent control. The BBC’s US and Middle East coverage needs a full overhaul. And on basic matters of biology, the corporation can no longer allow its output to be shaped by a cabal of ideological activists. The new leadership must now deliver genuine reform of the culture of the BBC, top to bottom, because it should not expect the public to keep funding it through a compulsory licence fee unless it can finally demonstrate true impartiality.” On Sunday night, Mr Trump, the US president, thanked The Telegraph for exposing bias at the broadcaster, writing on Truth Social that it had exposed “a terrible thing for democracy”. – Daily Telegraph

• Tim Davie resigns as BBC director-general – The Times
• Tim Davie resigns as BBC director general after accusations of ‘serious and systemic’ bias in coverage – The Guardian
• BBC chair to respond to MPs after director general and News CEO resign – BBC News
• Culture Sec Lisa Nandy reported to sleaze watchdog for not declaring donor – The Sun

Comment:

• The future of the BBC is now in doubt – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
• Davie had to go but who believes it will really change the woke sect that the BBC has become? – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• This is a crisis point for the BBC. Its gaslighting of Jews must end – Danny Cohen, Daily Telegraph
• A seismic moment that shows rift at top of BBC – Katie Razzall, BBC News
• Tim Davie’s time at top was littered with scandal – but it was failure to rid Beeb of liberal bias that sent him packing – Jack Elsom, The Sun
• Apologies mean nothing when the BBC is so obviously unrepentant – Janet Daley, Daily Telegraph

> Today:

Labour warned ahead of breaking manifesto tax pledges

“Cabinet ministers have privately warned Rachel Reeves that increasing income tax in the budget may spell electoral disaster for the Labour Party. Senior colleagues of the chancellor increasingly believe that she is set to break a manifesto promise but are putting pressure on her to set out an “off-ramp” of tax cuts to reverse the rise in time for the next election. They likened the potential fallout to the Liberal Democrats’ crushing defeat in 2015 after the party reneged in coalition on its pledge not to raise tuition fees. On Monday, the Treasury will receive revised forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which will cost up a series of “major measures” being considered by Reeves. These include plans for a 2p increase in income tax, coupled with a similar decrease in employee national insurance contributions limited to those on lower incomes. This would leave those workers paying the same level of tax, but would hit higher earners and other groups who do not pay national insurance, such as pensioners and landlords. Economists believe that this could raise more than £6 billion a year, helping close the roughly £20 billion fiscal hole Reeves faces in public finances. Only basic-rate taxpayers earning below about £50,000 are likely to be exempt from the national insurance cut, to ensure that the wealthier pay more. However, ministers are wary about the political consequences and backbench Labour MPs are increasingly agitating against Downing Street.” – The Times

• Reeves wants to hit Middle England with 14 council tax bands, Tories claim… as shadow housing secretary accuses Labour of ‘Left-wing plot’ to take more of your money – Daily Mail
• Reeves set to increase dividend tax – Daily Telegraph
• How a stealth tax rise on pensions savings risks backfiring on Reeves – The i
• Rachel Reeves’s exit tax ‘would hold entrepreneurs to ransom’ – The Times
• Nightmare for Rachel Reeves as 1 in 8 business chiefs set to leave UK over tax burden – Daily Express
• Chancellor warned ‘promises matter’ as she ­prepares to break Labour’s manifesto by raising income tax – The Sun
• Reeves warned against trashing the jobs market as AI hits hiring – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• Rachel Reeves can end this rolling crisis by being bold – Rupert Harrison, The Times
• Starmer will take more flak from the Left than the Right on tax rises – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
• Rachel Reeves looks like she’s in a hostage situation – on borrowed time – Duncan Barkes, Daily Express
• How Budget chaos is hurting Reeves and Starmer’s relationship – Anne McElvoy, The i
• These are the tax reforms Britain needs, but is Reeves listening? – Paul Johnson, The Times
• Rachel Reeves to tax families on money they don’t even have – ‘she’ll kill off pensions’ – Harvey Jones, Daily Express

> Today: 

Labour set to offer asylum seekers £100 a week to leave hotels

“Asylum seekers are to be given £100 a week to leave taxpayer-funded hotels under plans being considered by ministers. Home Office officials are proposing the migrants use the money to pay to live with a family or individual they know as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s drive to accelerate the closure of asylum hotels. It is understood the £100 a week would be provided on top of their taxpayer-funded support for living costs of £49.18 a week for migrants in hotels. The plan, to be trialled in 2026, could cut the cost of housing asylum seekers to a seventh of the total currently paid to accommodate them in hotels. In the latest data, more than 32,000 migrants were housed in 200 hotels in June 2025 at an average cost of £145 per night or £1,015 a week. That compares with £23.25 a night for other “dispersal” accommodation in communities. The total bill for asylum hotels is £5.5m a day, or £2.1bn a year. Labour has pledged to stop their use by the end of this Parliament in 2029, although there have been suggestions that Sir Keir has privately set the Government a target of achieving this within a year.” – Daily Telegraph

• Drama for Starmer as 503 migrants cross the English Channel on Saturday, ridculing his deterrent efforts and French deal – Daily Mail
• Migrants set to be paid £3,000 of YOUR money to start a business in their home countries – GB News
• Migrant helpline advising on issues including how to fix kettles is part of £120million call centre funded by the taxpayer – Daily Mail
• Channel migrant crisis hits new milestone as Shabana Mahmood considers major changes – Daily Express

News in brief:

• Renewing culture for the Right – Lola Salem, The Critic
• Will Tim Davie’s resignation be a fresh start for the BBC? – Julie Bindel, Unherd
• We should not need a court’s permission to criticise Islam – Patrick West, The Spectator
• ‘Tell us which City rules to slash’ – Andrew Griffith, CityAM