The Telegraph reported that BBC Director-General Matt Brittin has suggested the broadcaster's next charter could include a crackdown on antisemitism. Brittin told staff in an email that "recent media coverage of allegations of antisemitism at the BBC," had underlined the need for cultural change.
Changes, he said, would come "both immediately and in the next charter." In earlier coverage, The Telegraph reported that Jewish former producer Lucie Kon received over £400,000 (about $525,000) after she was made redundant following her complaint about workplace antisemitism.
With the charter up for renewal in early 2028, the comments appear aimed at heading off the independent inquiry that several MPs, including Labour members, have sought.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has criticized the BBC's response to antisemitism scandals, and the corporation wants to reassure her. Brittin's note also referenced Russell Brand's guilty verdicts. Brand faced eight misconduct allegations during his BBC tenure from 2006 to 2008. Progress has been made, Brittin said, but "we are taking further action to improve."
Brittin added: "At last month's Board meeting, we agreed that there is still more to do to engage with staff and represent their views and concerns at the highest level. We are talking to our trade unions on changes that could be made both immediately and in the next charter. I am determined that we take the opportunity of a new leadership team to look at these issues with renewed focus and intent… The BBC has to be a safe and supportive space where everyone who works here, and anyone we work with, can raise issues and voice concerns. And we have to be an organization that responds to these issues with speed and transparency."
The message is Brittin's first reaction to such claims since Kon spoke to The Telegraph. Senior managers urged Kon to file a formal grievance after a colleague lectured her about the "evil" of Zionism and told her to empathize with Hamas terrorists responsible for the rapes, murders and mutilations of Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.
Kon said her Jewish faith seldom came up with colleagues before October 7, but afterward "it was like having Jew stamped on my forehead." Her grievance was rejected, and she was later told that she was being dismissed. The BBC later reached an out-of-court settlement after she brought tribunal proceedings alleging harassment, victimization and unfair dismissal.
Brittin has repeatedly declined Kon's requests for a meeting to discuss how other Jewish employees continue to leave because of how they are being treated by their colleagues. Brittin succeeded Tim Davie, who resigned last year after The Telegraph published a leaked BBC report on bias. The report documented multiple examples of anti-Israeli bias and revealed that "Panorama" doctored a speech by US President Donald Trump.
Danny Cohen, a former director of BBC Television, told The Telegraph: "Matt Brittin is right to say that the BBC must be more open about its culture. But the corporation cannot do so whilst it continues to deny it has a problem with antisemitism. The BBC should begin a fully independent inquiry into anti-Semitism at the BBC given a succession of highly concerning incidents over a number of years. If the BBC is truly open and has nothing to hide it should welcome an independent investigation into these issues."
