Tim Davie has resigned as the BBC’s Director-General amid a storm over a misleading edit of Donald Trump speaking to supporters on the day of the Capitol Hill riots.
The chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness also resigned on Sunday evening.
The announcement comes after a turbulent week for the BBC, following accusations that it selectively edited a January 2021 clip of US President Donald Trump.
Michael Prescott, a former external advisor to the corporation, alleged that a Panorama documentary spliced Trump’s words to make it appear he was encouraging the Capitol Hill riots.
Other sections of the memo reportedly allege bias in the BBC’s Arabic service coverage of the Gaza conflict and claim some journalists “censored” reporting on transgender issues to promote a pro-trans agenda.
Mr Davie, who is stepping away from the corporation after 20 years, sent a message to staff on Sunday afternoon, saying it was "entirely" his decision to quit.
He acknowledged that “there have been some mistakes made” and as a result, he has to take “ultimate responsibility” for them.
He said: "In these increasingly polarised times, the BBC is of unique value and speaks to the very best of us. It helps make the UK a special place; overwhelmingly kind, tolerant and curious.
"Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and 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."
Davie became Director-General of the BBC in September 2020 and is the 17th person to take on the corporation’s editorial, operational, and creative leadership.
He was already a familiar figure at the BBC, having served as Chief Executive of BBC Studios for seven years, where he oversaw the merger of BBC Worldwide, the distribution company, with the corporation’s production arm. Before joining the BBC, Davie worked for companies including Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.
Davie said his departure will not be immediate, saying he is “working through” timings to ensure an “orderly transition” in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Ms Turness, who was appointed CEO of BBC News in January 2022, said the “ongoing controversy” surrounding the Panorama programme on Trump had escalated to the point of causing real damage to the corporation.
She said she had "taken the difficult decision that it will no longer be my role to lead you in the collective vision that we all have: to pursue the truth with no agenda".
She added that "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".
"The buck stops with me," she said, adding that she offered her resignation to Tim Davie on Saturday.
"While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong," she added.
Responding to the news on Sunday, President Trump accused BBC bosses of being “very dishonest people”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president wrote: “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.“Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt “Journalists.”
“These are very dishonest people who tried 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!”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Tim Davie "for his service to public broadcasting over many years".
"He has led the BBC through a period of significant change and helped the organisation to grip the challenges it has faced in recent years," she wrote on X.
"Now more than ever, the need for trusted news and high-quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life, and our place in the world.
"As a government, we will support the Board as it manages this transition and ensure that the Charter Review is the catalyst that helps the BBC to adapt to this new era and secures its role at the heart of national life for decades to come."
On Monday, The Telegraph published details of a leaked internal memo that suggested a BBC Panorama programme had spliced together sections of Trump’s January 2021 speech so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots.
In the clip, broadcast before the election, Trump appears to tell supporters: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol…and I’ll be there with you. And we fight, we fight like hell.”
But the words were taken from different sections of his speech, nearly an hour apart.
In the original footage, his language is more restrained: “We’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” adding his supporters will march “peacefully and patriotically” to make their voices heard.
Five people, including a police officer, were killed when a mob of roughly 2,000 Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
US senators were meeting in the Capitol to certify the election results when Trump, who was still president at the time, addressed a large crowd of supporters.
He urged them to march “peacefully” to the White House, but also made unsubstantiated claims of mass voter fraud and told them to “fight like hell”.
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 the former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.
I want to thank Tim Davie for his service to public broadcasting over many years.
— Lisa Nandy MP (@lisanandy) November 9, 2025
He has led the BBC through a period of significant change and helped the organisation to grip the challenges it has faced in recent years.
BBC chairman Samir Shah said it was a "sad day" for the BBC, adding that Davie had been an "outstanding director-general" who had "propelled the BBC forward with determination, single-mindedness and foresight".
Mr Shah continued: "He has had the full support of me and the board throughout.
"However, I understand the continued pressure on him, personally and professionally, which has led him to take this decision today.
Shot: Chaser: pic.twitter.com/n0U08PnUJb
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) November 9, 2025
"The whole board respects the decision and the reasons for it.
"Tim has given 20 years of his life to the BBC.
"He is a devoted and inspirational leader and an absolute believer in the BBC and public service broadcasting.
"He has achieved a great deal. Foremost, under his tenure, the transformation of the BBC to meet the challenges in a world of unprecedented change and competition is well under way."
Following the announcement on Sunday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews called for "deep cultural change" at the BBC, reiterating concerns about the broadcaster’s coverage of the war in Gaza.
The community body said in a statement: "The Jewish community has long had profound concerns about the BBC's coverage of the Middle East, but this has sunk to ever greater depths over the last two years.
"The BBC has been hit by scandal after scandal, whether in terms of a Gaza documentary involving the son of a Hamas official, its Glastonbury coverage, the open sore of BBC Arabic, or by continuing to call Hamas what they are - a terrorist organisation. Jewish staff and contractors have also repeatedly complained about their treatment at the corporation.
"In this light, Tim Davie's and Deborah Turness's resignations must be seen as the beginning, rather than the end, of a process of renewal.
"Deep cultural change will be necessary to once again restore trust in one of our nation's most cherished institutions."
This is a developing story, more to follow
