LONDON: The head of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Tim Davie, and the corporation’s news chief, Deborah Turness, have resigned following a controversy over a Panorama documentary accused of misleadingly editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.
The resignations mark one of the most serious crises for the BBC in years, coming just as the broadcaster faces a government review of its Royal Charter, which defines its mission and funding, before its renewal in 2027.
The controversy stems from a Panorama episode titled Trump: A Second Chance?, aired a week before the 2024 US presidential election.
According to reports first published by The Daily Telegraph, the one-hour documentary edited two separate segments of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech in Washington, D.C., to make it appear as though he directly encouraged supporters to attack the US Capitol.
In the original speech, Trump told the crowd, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
However, in the Panorama version, he was shown saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” The two quotes were taken from parts of the speech delivered nearly an hour apart.
A leaked internal memo written by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, described the edit as a “distortion of the day’s events” and warned that it risked undermining public trust in the broadcaster. Prescott said BBC managers initially “refused to accept there had been a breach of standards.”
The fallout and resignations
In an email to BBC staff, Turness said the controversy had “reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love.”
“As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me,” she said. “While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”
Davie, who became director general in 2020, said his resignation was “entirely my decision,” though he acknowledged the debate around BBC News had “understandably contributed” to it.
“Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility,” he wrote.
BBC chair Samir Shah described Davie’s departure as a “sad day” for the corporation, saying he had the “full support” of the board but faced “continued pressure, personally and professionally.”
Political and public reaction
The scandal has sparked political debate in the UK and the United States.
UK Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy said the allegations were “incredibly serious” and required full accountability.
Across the Atlantic, White House’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, labelled the BBC “100 per cent fake news” and a “propaganda machine.”
Trump himself wrote on Truth Social that “very dishonest people” had tried to “step on the scales of a presidential election.”
Right-wing figures in Britain, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, celebrated Davie’s resignation, warning that “if the BBC doesn’t get this right, there will be vast numbers of people refusing to pay the licence fee.”
Wider allegations of bias
The Telegraph report also cited Prescott’s claims of “systemic problems” within the BBC. He raised concerns about how the corporation handled reporting on transgender issues.
The BBC has faced growing scrutiny over impartiality in recent years, with controversies involving high-profile presenters and editorial decisions on politically sensitive issues.
Davie’s exit ends a turbulent five-year tenure that saw him navigate multiple scandals — from the Gary Lineker suspension dispute to complaints over the broadcaster’s handling of the Gaza conflict and political impartiality.
He said his timing was aimed at “creating the best conditions and space for a new director general to come in and positively shape the next Royal Charter.”
The BBC Board will now begin the process of appointing his successor, who will become the corporation’s 18th director general in its 103-year history.
Names already circulating as potential candidates include Charlotte Moore, former BBC chief content officer; Jay Hunt, a veteran television executive; and James Harding, the BBC’s former head of news.
