The corporation should have stood up to the Telegraph, Trump and the Tories. Now, its enemies know how little it takes for it to fold

The resignation of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, over accusations of bias comes as a shock and leaves a gulf at the top of the corporation when it needs leadership most. Davie stressed that the decision was his alone – neither the board, nor even many of those who led the coordinated attack among rightwing press and politicians expected it.

Now the resignations of both Davie and the CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, have shown that baying for blood gets results.

Jane Martinson is professor of financial journalism at City St George’s and a member of the board of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group. She writes in a personal capacity

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

• Pair could face 65 years in prison if found guilty

• NBA also caught up in its own gambling scandal

The betting crisis in US sports has spread further after Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted over an alleged scheme to rig pitches during games.

Bettors in the US can gamble on whether individual pitches will be balls or strikes. Prosecutors allege claim that Ortiz was paid $5,000 for throwing an intentional ball during a game on 15 June. His teammate Clase, a three-time All-Star, is alleged to have been given $5,000 for facilitating the rigged pitch. Prosecutors claim the pair did so again in a game on 27 June, receiving $7,000 each.

• McLaren driver opens 24-point lead over Oscar Piastri

• Kimi Antonelli second, Verstappen powers through field

Max Verstappen had disconsolately declared his world championship hopes should be forgotten as he went into the São Paulo Grand Prix. Yet after another masterclass in Brazil he defied the odds in taking third from a 19th-place start in the pit lane. An extraordinary drive, even as Lando Norris delivered a perfect weekend with a win at Interlagos and in so doing stake a claim to having one hand on the title.

Norris’s victory was without doubt that of a champion in waiting as he managed a tense and high pressure victory from pole position to extend his world championship lead over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri who finished only fifth. Norris gave a performance of precision and control exactly when it was required to put real daylight on his two title rivals.

Attenborough’s latest extravaganza is packed with such high drama it’s like Game of Thrones … if Cersei was a hyena. If only it hadn’t been bumped down the schedules because of Strictly

As I watch a leopard hunt in Kingdom, the BBC’s latest David Attenborough-narrated documentary, I find myself thinking about a YouGov survey from a few years ago that found that half of Britons wouldn’t take a free trip to the moon, with 11% turning it down because “there isn’t enough to see and do”. As well as it providing a fantastic insight into the great British public’s psyche (would outer space be better if it had Alton Towers?), I can’t help but wonder if it also explains the pressure that TV commissioners feel under to find new ways to interest the pesky human race in sights that would previously have been greeted with wonder.

Back in 2017, Blue Planet II was the most-watched programme of the year, with 14.1 million viewers tuning in to see dolphins surf on prime time. Today, the six-part Kingdom has been bumped to the teatime slot, and finding out which Strictly celeb’s rumba has been voted the most mediocre is deemed more important to the schedule.

Barclay family set to lose another part of former business empire, once known as Littlewoods, to Carlyle Group

The Barclay family is set to lose control of another part of their former business empire with a US private equity firm taking control of online retailer the Very Group.

Washington-headquartered Carlyle Group is expected to announce it has taken over the retailer as soon as Monday morning.

• Antonelli second, Verstappen charges up to third

• Share your thoughts with Alex via email

“I’ll try and make it entertaining,” Oscar Piastri tells Martin with a grin which suggests he’s not feeling the pressure. Perhaps doing the chasing in the title battle will take a weight off his shoulders?

“A bit of mist in the air – it’s a British autumn day out there,” says Oliver Bearman, who will start in eighth.

It was all about which of these rivals could capitalise on Arsenal’s draw at Sunderland on Saturday, who could make a statement about their intention to chase down the Premier League leaders? It was Manchester City who cleared their throats and made it plain that they are in this race for the long haul. Liverpool barely got a word in.

The table looks a lot more appealing for Pep Guardiola and his players now, City only four points behind Arsenal, and it was an occasion when they blew Liverpool away. They could shrug off the inconvenience of Erling Haaland missing a controversially awarded 13th-minute penalty to put on a show of strength, particularly in the first half.

Davie says departure is ‘my own decision’, while head of news also quits. Insiders say it “feels like a coup” by broadcaster’s enemies

• BBC bias row: how a week of hostile headlines from rightwing media led to resignations

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and the head of BBC News have resigned after a former adviser to the corporation accused it of “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights.

In an announcement that caused shock within the corporation, Davie said his departure was “entirely my decision” and it comes as the BBC prepares to apologise for the way it edited a Trump speech.

• ‘We need a clear gameplan to put them under pressure’

• All Blacks have not lost at Twickenham for 13 years

Jamie George has warned that England must not be seduced by the All Blacks’ mystique if they are to clinch a first Twickenham win against New Zealand in 13 years on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick has been boosted before the toughest assignment of England’s autumn campaign with the return to fitness of Elliot Daly, who could make his first appearance since fracturing an arm on British & Irish Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck have also been named in the 37-man squad.

Exclusive: Ukraine’s leader dismisses reports his last Washington meeting was volatile, and praises King Charles for helping build ties with US president

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is not “afraid” of Donald Trump unlike other western leaders and dismissed reports that their last meeting in Washington was volatile, adding that he had good relations with the US president.

He also said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian that King Charles had helped build relations with Trump and described the British monarch as “very supportive” of Ukraine.

• Antonio Conte’s side slip to 2-0 loss

• Real Madrid held to goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano

Napoli suffered a 2-0 defeat at Bologna on Sunday, with goals from Thijs Dallinga and Jhon Lucumí keeping the Serie A title race wide open.

Napoli are second in the standings on 22 points, level with the leaders, Milan. Bologna join Inter and Roma, who play later in the evening, on 21 points.

A shocking incident should become an opportunity to address broader problems of misogyny

What does the experience of women at the top tell us about the rest? Those most vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and abuse are, unsurprisingly, those who have less power or are treated with less respect: undocumented migrants; women in precarious employment; women with disabilities; LGBTQ women; young women and girls.

Paradoxically, that helps to explain why the assault of Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, has drawn such outrage domestically and internationally. A drunken man tried to kiss her neck and grabbed her chest as she spoke to citizens in the capital’s streets. It is the proof, captured on camera, that no woman is safe. You can be the most powerful person in the land and a man will still feel entitled to grope you, in front of the world, because you are a woman. When you object, some will complain that you are taking it too seriously, or that it is all made up. As Ms Sheinbaum herself remarked: “If they do this to the president, then what will happen to all the young women in our country?”

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Half of the country’s privately owned countryside is held by just 421 owners. New legislation suggests democrats still fear powerful interests

No other European country has such a narrow base of proprietorship as Scotland. Half of all privately owned rural land is held by 421 people or entities. The roots of such disparities lie in the past. The 18th- and 19th-century Highland clearances emptied the glens and readied them for private takeover. On the continent, and eventually in England, the great estates were broken up by inheritance and land taxes. By comparison, Scotland is still feudal in scale.

The passing of a land reform bill, its supporters say, will change that. But doubts remain. Its proponents say the legislation could allow the Scottish government to intervene in private land sales and require large estates to be broken up. At its heart is the so-called transfer test. This would see Scottish ministers notified before any land sale over 1,000 hectares. However, they lack an explicit veto. If they wanted a more democratic constraint, they could have adopted the Scottish Land Commission’s 2019 proposal for a public interest test – forcing big buyers to openly justify their purchases.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Congressional approval would likely be required for plan to take effect, an idea Trump has floated before

Donald Trump on Sunday mused about giving most Americans $2,000 funded by tariff revenues collected by the president’s administration – an evident bid to rally public support on the issue.

“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

The president reportedly wants the new home of the Washington Commanders to bear his name. There are reasons to think he will succeed

That’s if a well-sourced report from ESPN is to be believed. The US president has apparently let it be known to the ownership group of the Washington Commanders that he wants the team’s new stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2030, to take his name. “It’s what the president wants, and it will probably happen,” a senior White House official told ESPN.

Igor Rogov, who left Russia in 2021, due to go on trial accused of informing on other Russian opposition activists

A Russian opposition activist arrested in Poland and due to go on trial next month has admitted he worked as an undercover agent for Russia’s FSB security service and informed on other opposition figures, court documents claim.

Igor Rogov, 30, has been associated with various opposition movements in the Russian city of Saransk, including Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and Open Russia, linked to the exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Something is seriously wrong with Newcastle on the road. It is all well and good raising their game for the biggest Champions League fixtures at St James’ Park, but if they continue to play as meekly as they did against Brentford – just as in defeat at West Ham a week earlier and on a concerning number of previous occasions over recent months – those European nights will rapidly become a thing of the past.

Two points above the relegation zone is no place for a club of their ambition. “It’s the wrong end of the table for us, but it’s the reality,” Eddie Howe said. That they ended this match with a numerical disadvantage after Dan Burn’s sending off was of little relevance to a defeat that they fully deserved. Harvey Barnes’s goal aside, they were utterly impotent, offering only his solitary shot on target all match.

• Top seed beats Australian 7-6 (5), 6-2

• Alcaraz has never won ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz opened the ATP’s season-ending championships, and the battle for the year-end No 1 ranking, in ideal fashion as he confidently navigated a turbulent opening set before easing to a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over the seventh seed, Alex de Minaur, in Turin.

Alcaraz, the top seed, is attempting to win the ATP Finals for the first time and hold off Jannik Sinner to finish the season as the top-ranked player. Despite ceding significant ground to the Italian in recent weeks by losing to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters, which Sinner won, Alcaraz still holds a clear advantage this week since the Italian is defending his title from last year. The Spaniard must win all three of his round-robin group stage matches or reach the final in order to secure the top ranking.

After Emiliano Martínez’s mistake allowed Mohamed Salah to open the scoring for Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, there was a statistic doing the rounds that only three players had made more errors leading to Premier League goals than the seven made by the Argentinian since he signed for Aston Villa five years ago. The life of a goalkeeper and all that.

But Martínez tends to thrive when in the line of fire and here he pulled off two brilliant saves, including one to deny Antoine Semenyo from the penalty spot. At that point Bournemouth were pushing to make a comfortable afternoon a little more awkward, before the substitutes Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen added their names to the scoresheet in a 4-0 victory that lifts Villa above Bournemouth in the table. For Andoni Iraola’s side, their first notable off-day of an otherwise fine start. Villa began with five winless games but have now won five of their past six league matches.

• Nottm Forest 3-1 Leeds, Crystal Palace 0-0 Brighton

• Share your thoughts with Tom via email

Newcastle were horrible last week against West Ham, as Eddie Howe just admitted in his pre-match interview. “We have to deliver something different. That day (against West Ham) was painful for us. Hopefully, we have learnt a lot. Now we have to start picking up points.”

On Anthony Gordon: “He wasn’t close in the end. The scan revealed a very slight problem in his hip and it’s a good opportunity for Harvey (Barnes) to come in.”

• Jonathan Taylor touchdown seals 31-25 OT win

• Send Graham an email with your thoughts

Colts 13-7 Falcons 4:36, 1st quarter

And our commentary team kindly informs us that Pierce’s brother played basketball in Germany. So him scoring today was meant to be I suppose.

A handful of nuts a day can help manage obesity and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. Yet most of us don’t get enough. Here’s a no-fuss guide to getting your 30g a day

How often do you eat nuts? The planetary health diet, introduced in 2019 and updated last month, recommends that everyone eat a portion every day (unless you have an allergy). Alongside eating more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and fewer animal products and sugary foods, this could help prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world, as well as slash food-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Yet according to Prof Sarah Berry, the chief scientist at Zoe, many don’t eat any nuts at all. In the UK, the average consumption is 6g a day. Romanian researchers found higher levels of nut consumption in Canada, some African countries and some regions of Europe and the Middle East, and lower levels in South America. But overall, they said: “Consumers may not have a comprehensive understanding of the multiple benefits that nuts might bring.”