Photo: Alamy
The head of the BBC resigned on Sunday following backlash over how the broadcaster edited a speech by President Donald Trump, in a major decision concerning the United Kingdom’s public media institution.
The BBC reported that Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness both announced their departures.
The broadcaster faced criticism for the way it edited a Jan. 6, 2021, speech that President Trump delivered before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The edit used in a BBC documentary omitted a portion in which he told supporters to protest peacefully.
“This purposefully dishonestly, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday.
In a message to staff, Davie stated that leaving after five years “is entirely my decision.” He said he was “working through exact timings with the Board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months.”
Turness said the controversy surrounding the documentary “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.”
Pressure on senior leadership grew after the Daily Telegraph published parts of a dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, who had been hired to advise the BBC on editorial standards. Along with the Trump edit, the report criticized coverage of transgender issues and raised concerns about anti-Israel bias.
The BBC is required to remain impartial under its public charter. Critics across the political spectrum often claim the network fails to meet that standard.
The broadcaster has also faced complaints about its reporting on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In February, it removed a Gaza documentary from its streaming service after it was revealed that the child narrator was the son of an official in the Hamas-led government.
