Behaviour of some at BBC unacceptable, says report

There is a small number of BBC stars and managers whose behaviour is simply not acceptable” and which goes unaddressed, a review ordered after the Huw Edwards scandal has found.

- ANDY GREGORY

Vowing to “draw a line in the sand” after the independent review was published yesterday, the BBC’s chair Dr Samir Shah warned that employees who “abuse power or punch down or behave badly” have no place at the corporation and will be “found out”.

Those people make life “not just difficult, but at times unbearable” for colleagues, he said.

The report, by consultancy firm Change Associates, found there was no toxic culture overall at the BBC after taking views from 2,500 staff members and freelancers, with many employees reporting that the culture has improved in recent years.

But the review, announced in August 2024 and beginning in October after presenter Edwards admitted accessing indecent images of children, and was handed a suspended prison sentence, warned that there is a “minority of people who behave unacceptably and whose behaviour is not addressed”.

“These people work in both on and off-air roles, dotted across the organisation in different functions and departments,” it said. “They are often in positions where power could be abused.

“Even though they are small in number, their behaviour creates large ripples which negatively impact the BBC’s culture and external reputation.”