under its chair Samir Shah, describing his evidence to MPs on Monday as "wishy-washy". Shah appeared in front of the Commons committee after a turbulent period for the BBC, which has seen its director general and head of news resign after claims about impartiality in its reporting. Speaking to the BBC's World Tonight after the hearing, Dame Caroline Dinenage, the most senior MP on the committee, said she was concerned about a lack of "grip at the heart of BBC governance". Shah told the Commons committee he would not walk away from the job, saying he would "steady the ship" and "fix it".

Shah and other senior BBC figures were summoned to give evidence about how the corporation is addressing concerns raised about impartiality in its news coverage. The row was triggered by the leak of a memo written by an ex-independent adviser on editorial standards, which included criticism of how a Donald Trump speech was edited by the Panorama programme. The fallout has seen two of the BBC's most senior leaders quit, the US president threaten to sue and renewed pressure on the organisation from senior politicians in the UK. Asked about the assurances Shah gave to the committee, Conservative MP Dame Caroline said: "He didn't really have direct answers on the questions of how to get the BBC to act quicker, act more decisively... we were really looking for hard evidence that the BBC board are going to grip this... I'm not entirely convinced that they can and they will." Asked about Shah's position, she said: "The BBC can't be left without a [director general] and without a chair - someone needs to be there to lead the march to replace the leadership. "But equally I don't think we as a committee were wildly enthused that the board is in safe hands." (BBC)