At a glance
• Trump reacts as BBC Director-General Tim Davie quits amid a storm over selective editing of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021
• US President hits out at attempt to ‘step on the scales of a presidential election’
• Deborah Turness, who also quit her role as BBC News chief executive, admits mistakes were made but says ‘allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong’
Donald Trump has attacked BBC journalists as “corrupt” as he welcomed director-general Tim Davie quitting amid a storm over misleading edits in a Panorama programme about the US President.
Trump reacted on his Truth Social platform after the resignations of both of Mr Davie and the chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, were announced.
"The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught “doctoring” my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th,” he messaged.
"Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt “Journalists.”
But Downing Street flatly rejected the US president’s “corrupt” attack on the BBC.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “On the question is the BBC corrupt, no.”
He added: “We support a strong, independent BBC and in an age of disinformation the argument for a robust, impartial British news service is stronger than ever but it’s important that trust is maintained and errors are corrected and that for any public service broadcaster accountability and trust are key.
“What is important here is that the BBC maintains the high standards for which it is rightly recognised internationally.”
Trump also claimed there had been an attempt to “step on the scales of a presidential election”.
“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!" he said.
BBC chairman Samir Shah apologised on Monday for the way a speech by Trump on January 6, 2021, was edited for Panorama after several days of pressure on the broadcaster prompted the resignations of the director-general and Ms Turness.
The corporation was accused of misleading the public after a whistleblower raised the alarm about how Trump’s speech had been selectively edited in the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?
A memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US president’s speech were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
Critics said the documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election, was misleading and removed a section where the US president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
Mr Shah is expected to apologise and provide further details on the Panorama episode on Monday in his response to the Culture Media and Sport Committee which asked how he would address the concerns.
The storm engulfing the BBC has also left the chairman of the corporation’s position in growing doubt, with a minister on Monday failing to back him staying in his job.
Mr Shah said Sunday was a “sad day” for the BBC while committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage said Mr Davie’s resignation was “regrettable” but “restoring trust in the corporation must come first”.
Mr Davie said his departure will not be immediate and that he is “working through” timings to ensure an “orderly transition” over the coming months, while Ms Turness said controversy around the Panorama edit had “reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love”.
In a statement sent to staff, Mr Davie said his resignation was “entirely” his decision and he was “thankful” to the chairman and board for their “unswerving and unanimous support” during his tenure.
He said: “Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.”
The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for his “service to public service broadcasting” and for leading the BBC through a period of “significant change”.
She said the Government will support the BBC board through the transition and the upcoming charter review will help the corporation to adapt to a new era that “secures its role at the heart of national life for decades to come”.
The BBC’s Royal Charter, which expires at the end of 2027, sets out the corporation’s mission, public purposes and funding.
Ms Nandy said in November last year that the Government would use the review of the charter to consider alternative ways of funding the corporation but ruled out the licence fee being replaced by general taxation.
Ms Turness, who has been in the role since 2022, said that she had offered her resignation to Mr Davie on Saturday night adding that, despite mistakes being made, the “recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong”.
In a message sent to staff, she said she was “proud” of the work they had done adding: “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.
“In public life leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down.”
The BBC has been criticised for a number of failings in recent months which include breaching its own accuracy editorial guidelines, livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan Glastonbury set, as well as misconduct allegations surrounding former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.
Leading politicians have said the BBC must change to rebuild its reputation.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the corporation needs “to turn a new leaf” while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for “top-to-bottom” reform.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was the BBC’s “last chance”, adding: “I don’t want to abolish the BBC, I make that very clear, but we cannot have the BBC being seen to be our main national news broadcaster if it cannot perform in a straightforward, simple, unbiased way.”
Asked if Mr Shah should go as well, Veterans Minister Louise Sandher-Jones told LBC Radio on Monday: “That’s a matter for them.
“It’s not for a Government minister to opine over that kind of thing.
“What I would say is it has been clear that there have been editorial failings at the BBC that don’t meet the high standards that the public have a right to expect.”
David Yelland, former editor of the Sun and now a BBC presenter claimed the resignations were the result of a "coup" from the board.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the board had “systematically undermined” Mr Davie and his senior team for a long time.
He claimed elements of the board have worked with hostile newspaper editors, a former prime minister, and enemies of public service broadcasting.
