BBC director‑general Tim Davie told MPs on Tuesday that "no one is irreplaceable" as he defended the corporation's handling of recent workplace and editorial scandals and outlined changes intended to curb abuses of power.
Speaking to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Davie said he was "not letting anything lie" and that the BBC was enforcing consequences for staff who failed to live up to its values. He said the corporation's recent internal review had not found a "toxic culture" overall but had identified "pockets where things were not right," and that measures were being taken to address those weaknesses.
Davie faced questions over a number of high‑profile issues, including the sacking of MasterChef presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode after a report upheld allegations against them. He said the "vast majority" of chefs on the programme wanted the latest series to air and defended the decision to edit out two contestants from the show. "I think it was on judgment the right thing to do, but I understand that you could see both sides of the argument very clearly," he told MPs.
The director‑general also addressed criticism of the BBC's coverage of Glastonbury, where a live broadcast of Bob Vylan's set included chants of "death, death to the IDF" and other derogatory comments by the band's singer. Davie said the segment was "deeply disturbing" and that "the BBC made a very significant mistake broadcasting that." He said the footage had been pulled from BBC iPlayer and that an internal disciplinary process was under way. Asked why the inquiry had not yet concluded, he said such investigations "take time, you need to do it properly" and added: "These are well intentioned people who made a mistake, so I need to be proportionate."
Davie declined to confirm whether further cases of workplace misconduct were currently being investigated, saying he could not "guarantee there would never be someone else abusing their power" because culture is "ongoing." He added that he believed the corporation — and wider society — were at a point where such behaviour was more likely to be called out.
He described more concrete safeguards put in place since the review into workplace culture, saying they would "categorically prevent what happened" in the Glastonbury broadcast. "If something is a high‑risk act, we'd now put it on delay," he said, describing changes to live production protocols and oversight.
Davie emphasised the need for proportionate disciplinary responses and reiterated that staff who did not live the BBC's values would face consequences. "If you're not living the values, it is clear you leave the BBC or there are consequences," he told the committee. He said the corporation was determined to follow through on reforms and accountability as investigations and internal reviews continued.