The British Broadcasting Corporation is facing one of its most significant leadership crises in recent history following the leak of an explosive internal memo written by former adviser Michael Prescott. The document has prompted the immediate resignations of two senior executives and drawn sharp criticism from former US President Donald Trump.
Who Is Michael Prescott?
Michael Prescott served as an independent adviser to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board for three years before departing in June 2025. The Oxford-educated professional brings substantial media experience to his credentials, having worked as a journalist for seventeen years.
His career includes a decade-long tenure at The Sunday Times, where he initially held the position of chief political correspondent before advancing to political editor. Beyond political journalism, Prescott has demonstrated versatility through regular appearances on Michael Parkinson's weekly Radio 2 programme, Parkinson's Sunday Supplement, where he contributed newspaper reviews.
Prescott's corporate experience is equally impressive, having served as corporate affairs director for BT during the launch of BT Sport and the telecom giant's merger with EE. Prior to that role, he was managing director of corporate communications and public affairs at global PR firm Weber Shandwick, advising major organisations including Virgin Media, Balfour Beatty, British Nuclear Fuels, MasterCard, IKEA, and air traffic control body NATS.
Currently, Prescott holds positions at Hanover Communications, an international communications and PR agency. He also serves on the government's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, providing independent advice to the Prime Minister among other officials.
The Explosive Memo Contents
Prescott has stated he composed the memo out of "despair at inaction by the BBC Executive when issues come to light." He expressed unprecedented concern about the corporation's handling of serious recurrent problems, stating: "On no other occasion in my professional life have I witnessed what I did at the BBC with regard to how management dealt with (or failed to deal with) serious recurrent problems."
The comprehensive document raised significant concerns about BBC impartiality across multiple areas of output, including coverage of trans issues and the war in Gaza. When the memo was leaked to The Telegraph newspaper, it triggered immediate turmoil within the corporation's leadership structure.
Leadership Fallout
The leaked document has claimed two high-profile casualties at the top of the BBC hierarchy. Tim Davie, the corporation's director-general, had earned the nickname "Teflon Tim" for his ability to survive numerous controversies during his tenure.
Davie joined the BBC in 2005 and ascended to the director-general position in 2020. Before his BBC career, he served as vice-president for marketing and franchise for drinks giant PepsiCo Europe and received a CBE in 2018 for services to international trade.
Previous controversies weathered by Davie included the 2023 brief suspension of former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker, Gregg Wallace's sacking, and Bob Vylan's 2025 Glastonbury set. However, the combination of the Gaza documentary breach and the edited Donald Trump speech proved insurmountable.
Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC news and current affairs, also resigned in the wake of the scandal. The linguist studied in Surrey before completing a postgraduate journalism diploma in France at the University of Bordeaux.
Turness made history as ITV News's first female editor and their youngest ever editor before becoming president of NBC News International. She assumed her role at BBC News in September 2022, bringing extensive international news experience to the position.
Donald Trump's Reaction
The resignations followed internal concerns regarding the editing of a Donald Trump speech in an episode of the BBC's Panorama programme titled "Trump: A Second Chance?" The documentary, broadcast before last year's US elections, featured spliced clips of the former president's speech on January 6, 2021 - the day of the Capitol building storming by Trump supporters.
Responding to the leadership departures, Trump posted a lengthy statement on Truth Social, declaring: "The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught 'doctoring' my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th."
He thanked The Telegraph for exposing what he called "corrupt journalists" and described the BBC's actions as "a terrible thing for Democracy." The former president's intervention has intensified international scrutiny of the British broadcaster during this period of unprecedented internal crisis.
The BBC now faces fundamental questions about its editorial standards and leadership accountability as it navigates the aftermath of the Prescott memo leak and the subsequent high-profile departures that have shaken the corporation to its core.
