Speeches by Thomas.

“So there is a leak somewhere.”

“Did you share that memo with anybody else beyond the BBC board?”

“You have mentioned the memo a few times. You have also told us that you sent it to Ofcom and DCMS, and you had that meeting with the BBC. Two weeks later, The Telegraph had that memo, and it said that it was circulating around Government Departments. Do you have any idea how that memo got to those other Departments or …”

“You said there is some real work to be done at the BBC. Along what lines? Do you think any of that work should be done at the boardroom level?”

“I’m a centrist dad too, but a company that you work for received more than £100,000 from Larry Ellison, a Republican mega-donor. You will be aware that Donald Trump has removed funding from a lot of public service broadcasters. Is it true that you actually want the BBC to be impartial, based on those affiliations?”

“Mr Prescott, you just said that the BBC is not institutionally biased. What is your bias, if you have one?”

“What was your role in the establishment of GB News?”

“Can you remember his name?”

“Sir Robbie, you talk about leaving your bias at the door. Shortly after you took over at the Jewish Chronicle, a second-generation columnist, Jonathan Freedland, resigned, stating that too often the Jewish Chronicle “reads like a partisan, ideological instrument, its judgments political rather than journalistic”. How d…”

“At an organisation as large as the BBC, I imagine it should have occurred to you that you could have put out an initial statement while you were still trying to get to grips with the gravity of what had happened, prior to a full apology. Did you receive pressure from anybody on the board to delay such an apology?”

“The resignation of the director general is quite a big deal, is it not? When you tried to dissuade Tim Davie from his resignation, how did that conversation go?”

“I am not criticising you. I am just suggesting that it is interesting that somebody you have described as a friend had a role in your appointment. Do you not think that that is unusual?”

“Is there anything else you would like to add in answer to that question, Caroline?”

“What do you think was missing?”

“Would you agree that Michael’s memo was an accurate reflection or response to that Grossman report?”

“Have you read Michael’s memo?”

“You don’t agree with him. Thank you. Caroline, I have largely not spoken with you yet—apologies. Have you seen David Grossman’s report? Have you read it?”

“I have just realised that you did not quite answer my earlier question. Do you agree that Donald Trump’s reputation has been tarnished by this documentary?”

“Who would know?”

“Mr Prescott, I happen to agree that this documentary aired a catalogue of interesting circumstances through such a large editorial process. My question is, prior to it airing, did that documentary deviate from the standard editorial or auditing processes in any way?”