BBC director-general Tim Davie, 54, says ‘everyone in my generation is walking a tightrope’

BBC director-general Tim Davie, 54, says ‘everyone in my generation is walking a tightrope’ over culture wars that are part of modern Britain

  • Tim Davie, 54, said that ‘everyone in his generation is walking a tightrope’
  • Speaking at a FT conference, he said ‘cultural wars’ are ‘part of modern Britain’   
  • Comes after report into Martin Bashir’s interview with Princess Diana 


The BBC‘s director-general said that ‘everyone in his generation is walking a tightrope’. 

Tim Davie, 54, was speaking at a Financial Times Future of News press conference on Thursday as he said that ‘cultural wars’ are part of ‘modern Britain’. 

He said: ‘About the cultural war… Welcome to modern Britain. It’s a game now that we’re used to listening to different perspectives and accepting different opinions. 

Davie added: ‘And I think everyone in my generation is walking a tightrope.’ 

Davie’s comments come after it was announced former BBC director-generals Lord Hall and Lord Birt will be questioned by MPs about the events leading up to Martin Bashir’s Panorama interview with Princess Diana. 

Tim Davie, 54, was speaking at a Financial Times Future of News press conference on Thursday as he said that ‘cultural wars’ are part of ‘modern Britain’

A damning report by Lord Dyson recently condemned the methods used by Bashir to secure his interview, including using fake bank statements to encourage Diana’s brother Earl Spencer to make introductions. 

The report suggested the BBC had failed to uphold ‘governance, accountability and scrutiny’ with its internal investigation, carried out by Tony Hall in 1996 when he was the managing director of news and current affairs and John Birt was director-general. 

The BBC's director-general said that 'everyone in his generation is walking a tightrope'

The BBC’s director-general said that ‘everyone in his generation is walking a tightrope’

Davie also said that he welcomed the launch of Andrew Neil’s GB News, which launches at 8pm on June 13 with a special programme. 

The new channel, chaired by the veteran political interviewer, will kick off with a show called Welcome To GB News.

Neil also spoke at the press conference and said the planned ‘woke watch’ segment was not intended to cause a cultural war. 

He added he saw ‘cancel culture’ as a ‘a total turning of the enlightenment on its head’, which is the expulsion of people who expressed offensive views on large groups on social media.  

It was previously announced that former Daily Politics presenter Neil will lead GB News’s evening line-up with a prime-time news and interview programme. 

Other high-profile signings to the news network include ex-BBC presenter Simon McCoy, MailOnline’s Dan Wootton and ex-Sky broadcaster Colin Brazier.      

Ex-BBC director-generals Lord Hall and Lord Birt will be quizzed by MPs over Martin Bashir’s Princess Diana interview

By Faith Ridler for MailOnline

Former BBC director-generals Lord Hall and Lord Birt will be questioned by MPs about the events leading up to Martin Bashir‘s Panorama interview with Princess Diana.  

They will also face questions on the broadcaster’s handling of investigations into how journalist Bashir, 58, obtained the world exclusive in 1995.

A damning report by Lord Dyson recently condemned the methods used by Bashir to secure his interview, including using fake bank statements to encourage Diana’s brother Earl Spencer to make introductions.

The report suggested the BBC had failed to uphold ‘governance, accountability and scrutiny’ with its internal investigation, carried out by Tony Hall in 1996 when he was the managing director of news and current affairs and John Birt was director-general.

Lord Hall was director-general of the BBC from April 2013 to August 2020.

He was among corporation bosses who were attacked by Prince William for ‘looking the other way rather than asking tough questions’ in the aftermath of the interview. 

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