BBC chair Samir Shah’s letter to MPs – key points
BBC chair Samir Shah has written a detailed letter to MPs following controversy over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump.
Following a backlash, both BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness have both stepped down from their roles.
Mr Trump is also understood to have threatened the corporation with legal action over the editing together of two pieces of video from his speech on 6 January 2021 in the BBC’s flagship late-night news programme Panorama.
While the original programme received no complaints, Mr Shah confirmed in his letter that over 500 complaints had been received since a memo from former independent adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board, Michael Prescott, was leaked to The Daily Telegraph.
BBC resignations as Trump ‘threatens to sue’ – follow latest
In his memo, Mr Prescott detailed what he called “worrying systemic issues with the BBC’s coverage”, also discussing other coverage, including trans issues, and the war in Gaza.
Mr Prescott specifically mentioned Ms Turness and deputy director of BBC News, Jonathan Munro in his memo, calling them “defensive”.
File pic: AP
An apology – by denial of a cover-up
In his four-page letter of response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mr Shah said following “deliberation”, the board “accept that the way Mr Trump’s speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action”, calling it an “error of judgement”.
He also noted that some coverage of the memo leak, implied a list of stories and issues had been “uncovered”, which the BBC had sought to “bury”.
Mr Shah said that interpretation was “simply not true” and urged for a “sense of perspective” to be maintained when considering the “thousands of hours of outstanding journalism” the BBC produces each year.
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‘Trump is undermining the BBC ‘
Changes in leadership
The BBC chair also said the view that the BBC “has done nothing to tackle these problems” is “simply not true”.
Mr Shah admitted there were occasions “when the BBC gets things wrong” or “reporting requires more context or explanation”.
Read more:
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Trump reacts to BBC resignations – and doesn’t hold back
Raising the point that the information relied on by Mr Prescott for his memo was the very research commissioned by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC), he said the memo “did not present a full picture of the discussions, decisions and actions that were taken”.
Mr Shah detailed changes in leadership across the BBC Arabic team, as well as changes in World Service and BBC News – all of which he said would help tackle the issues raised.
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BBC boss ‘right to resign’
So what is being done?
At the end of the letter Mr Shah committed to three actions:
• “The board will commit to revisiting each and every item set out in Michael Prescott’s note and take further action where appropriate. We will be transparent about the conclusions we reach, and the actions taken.”
• “Where we have put in measures already, in response to the original EGSC research, we will repeat those internal reviews to check the changes made are making material improvements to the output.”
• “Where we have already accepted that items fall short of our editorial standards, we will ensure that amendments to the relevant online stories are made where this was deemed appropriate.”
Mr Shah concluded by saying the BBC would “champion impartiality”, which he said was “more necessary now than ever before”, calling it the “sacred job of the BBC”.
Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.
The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.
Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.
It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.
The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP
The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.
Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.
Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.
Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.
“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.
“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”
Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.
The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.
“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third were The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
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Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
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