You should read the full BBC article if you haven't, he expresses what he's changed his thinking on more clearly:

"So in the end, my 'I really don't want to be too PC' stance simply became untenable. Partly because you definitely can find some emails from me that were simply completely unacceptable, and I need to fix that going forward. But to a large degree also because I don't want to be associated with a lot of the people who complain about excessive political correctness.

So he's accepted that some of his emails in the past were unacceptable, when before he wrote off the criticism as excessive PC culture. He also describes not wanting to be associated with the most extreme elements of the anti-PC movement. You may say he was bullied into it, but it sounds like he's come to the decision himself. But it doesn't really sound like you are interested in finding middle ground with the "woke," so whatevs...