Pressure was last night mounting on the BBC director-general to break his silence as he was accused of hiding from an impartiality row engulfing the corporation.
Tim Davie has yet to speak out after an internal report accused him of ‘inaction’ against alleged breaches of impartiality, despite calls from political leaders for him to face the music.
The under-fire boss has not been seen since the emergence of the 19-pager dossier by a former advisor to the corporation’s editorial watchdog which claimed the BBC had doctored a Donald Trump speech, been bias in its coverage of the Gaza conflict, and suppressed stories on transgender issues.
But one source told the Daily Mail that they believed Mr Davie was ‘on manoeuvres’, looking to either shore up support or with an eye on the exit door.
Despite a succession of serious scandals, including those surrounding MasterChef’s Greg Wallace and newsreader Huw Edwards, the former Pepsi marketing boss has remained at the helm for five years.
But television insiders now believe that he could be soon exiting the broadcaster following ‘months of hell’ at the hands of some of his biggest stars – and most senior executives.
One source told the Daily Mail: ‘Tim is asking all kinds of people for meetings right now. It’s the classic behaviour of someone who is anticipating a move away from their current job.
‘It was the same tactic used by Channel 4’s recently departed chief executive Alex Mahon. As soon as it clicked that the end was coming she got herself out and networked, and networked, and networked.
The BBC director-general Tim Davie is yet to speak out after an internal report on Monday accused him of ‘inaction’ against alleged breaches of impartiality
Davie has not been seen since the emergence of a dossier by a former adviser to the corporation’s editorial watchdog which claimed the BBC had doctored a Donald Trump speech, been bias in its coverage of the Gaza conflcit and suppressed stories on transgender issues
‘Tim appears to be following a similar path, it’s a case of getting yourself out there and seeing what’s about job wise, reconnecting with others in the industry.
‘He is liked by many, he’s not a snob like so many bosses there have been in the past, he’s a self-made man but so much has happened that you wonder if he knows, or indeed others realise that his time is up.’
It comes as Housing Secretary Steve Reed called on Mr Davie to be accountable during the crisis.
He told LBC: ‘I do believe in open accountability, and I know the DG of the BBC has appeared before select committees in the House of Commons before now, but every institution, and that includes the BBC, must be open and accountable. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t planning to say something to be honest.’
Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho, meanwhile, piled on the pressure, telling GB News: ‘Tim Davie as Director-General needs to set out what he is going to do to fix the problem.
‘The BBC have got to show they are impartial. What we need to see is action. We need to know if they are getting taxpayers funding that they will be impartial.’
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch previously told the Daily Mail that the corporation was ‘losing the plot’ and called for Mr Davie to intervene or resign.
The damning dossier’s author Michael Prescott will give evidence to the Commons culture, media and sport committee next Wednesday which is expected to put further pressure on the embattled BBC chief.
Mr Davie, 58, replaced Tony Hall as director general in September 2020. Before that was both the Chief Executive of BBC Studios and a Director globally when it merged with BBC Worldwide.
The BBC did not respond to a request for comment.
