A member of the BBC board has resigned amidst the controversy surrounding a documentary that President Donald Trump intends to sue over.
Shumeet Banerji, a tech investor who has been a non-executive board member since 2022, mentioned “governance issues” as the reason for his resignation and stated that he was not consulted about the events leading to the resignation of two top news executives, the BBC shared Friday.
Banerji did not respond immediately to requests for comment on his decision. The BBC website describes him as responsible for upholding and protecting the independence of the BBC by acting in the public interest and exercising independent judgment.
His resignation comes after Trump announced his intention to sue the BBC for up to $5 billion following the broadcast of a documentary that he claims was edited unfairly.
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Following the release of a dossier by a former external BBC advisor and a report by The Telegraph on Nov. 3, Director-General Tim Davie and news CEO Deborah Turness both announced their departure from the BBC, acknowledging mistakes and taking accountability for errors.
Turness refuted claims of institutional bias at BBC News, while the BBC issued an apology to Trump but stated they did not believe a lawsuit was warranted.
Trump demanded an apology, retraction of the documentary, and compensation for alleged reputational and financial harm, leading to his threat of legal action.
Despite Trump’s demands not being met, he reiterated his intention to sue the BBC for damages.
