By Gabriel Princewill-
BBC’s director-general, Tim Davies,(pictured) has resigned from his highly coveted job after five years in the role – with chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness also stepping down.
It follows the disingenious merging of a clip from sections of the US president’s speech on 6 January 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell” in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election. The disingenuous editing surfaced following an editing of panaroma.
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Mr Trump responded to the pair’s resignation on Sunday night, describing Mr Davie and Ms Turness as “very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Admitting the BBC “is not perfect”, he said: “We must always be open, transparent and accountable.”
“While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.
“Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
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Donald Trump welcomed the resignation of BBC director-general Tim Davie and CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness.
Ms Turness told staff the “ongoing controversy” around the edition of Panorama “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love.
“The buck stops with me – and I took the decision to offer my resignation to the director-general last night.
“In public life, leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down. While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”
BBC Chair, Samir Shah called it “a very difficult day”, thanking Ms Turness and crediting her with having “transformed” the corporation’s news output.
Mr Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, posted a triumphant two-word reaction on X, using the drinking term “shot” to describe reports that the US president was “going to war with fake news”, referring to the BBC programme, and describing Mr Davie’s resignation as a “chaser” – a drink taken after the shot to soften the taste of the alcohol.
Davie described the departure as ‘my own decision’, while head of news also quits. Insiders say it ‘feels like a coup’ by broadcaster’s enemies
Sources within that department described a mood of dismay at Turness’s exit. “It feels like a coup,” one said. “This is the result of a campaign by political enemies of the BBC.”
The Commons culture, media and sport select committee set a Monday deadline for the BBC to respond to the claims made by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to its editorial guidelines and standards committee. He left that role in the summer.
Prescott criticised the editing of Trump’s speech in an edition of Panorama, which spliced together clips from an address the US president made on 6 January 2021. The edit suggested Trump told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
The words were taken from sections of his speech almost an hour apart. The incident has led to criticism of the BBC by Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, who described the corporation this weekend as “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine”.
Last night, Leavitt appeared to celebrate the departures, referring on X to her complaints about the BBC’s treatment of the US president’s speech.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that “very dishonest people” had “tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election”, adding: “On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for democracy!”
In a note to staff, Davie said he had retained the “unswerving and unanimous support” of the BBC’s board and its chair, Samir Shah, throughout. However, he said the current accusations had contributed to his decision.
“Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable,” he said.
“While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision. Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
Deborah Turness said: ‘In public life leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down.’ Photograph: Richard
Shah said Davie’s departure was a “sad day” for the BBC. “He has had the full support of me and the board throughout,” he said. “However, I understand the continued pressure on him, personally and professionally, which has led him to take this decision today. The whole board respects the decision and the reasons for it.”
The Prescott letter, which was passed to the Daily Telegraph, also condemned BBC Arabic for using contributors who had expressed antisemitic views. It included the views of a contributor who had previously stated online that Jews should be burned “as Hitler did”. The BBC has previously said he should not have been featured in the way he was.
Another featured contributor had described Jews online as “devils”. The BBC said in May that the person had been barred from being a contributor in future.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, had said she was confident that Shah and Davie were “treating this with the seriousness that this demands”.
In her departure note to staff, Turness said: “The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has 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. In public life leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down.”
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