Davie’s departure capped a week of attacks on Britain’s public broadcaster, with Trump’s press secretary describing the broadcaster as “100% fake news”.
The head of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has resigned following a row over the editing of a speech given by US President Donald Trump on the day of the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The joint resignations of Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness on Sunday capped a turbulent week in which the station was accused of editing a speech given by Trump on January 6, 2021, to make it appear as if he had incited violence after his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
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Mr Davie said he took “ultimate responsibility” for the mistakes made and said it was “entirely my decision” to leave the role he held at the helm of the public broadcaster after five years.
“I reflect on the very demanding personal and professional demands of managing this role for many years during this exciting time, and in addition, I want to give my successor time to help develop the charter they will implement,” he said.
The documentary, by the flagship program Panorama, spliced together clips from various points in Trump’s speech and aired a week before last year’s presidential election.
The edit made it appear as if President Trump was saying, “I’m going to walk to the Capitol. I’ll be there, too, and we’ll fight. We’ll fight like hell.”
Critics said the text was misleading because it cut out a section where Trump said he wanted his supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
“Buck stops with me.”
Mr Turness said the controversy surrounding Mr Trump’s documentary had “reached a stage where it was damaging to the BBC, which I love”.
“As CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, I have a huge responsibility,” she added.
Earlier on Sunday, Britain’s Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy called the allegations “incredibly serious” and said there was “systemic bias in the way difficult issues are reported at the BBC”.
Al Jazeera’s Rory Challans, reporting from London, said the BBC has always been in a difficult position.
“This program has been humiliated by the right, who perceive it to be a hotbed of liberal bigotry; it has been humiliated by the left, who believe it is pandering to the establishment and pushing the government’s line, especially when it comes to things like Gaza, and not holding those in power to account, especially as a broadcaster should.”
accusations of anti-Israel bias
The controversy, sparked by Britain’s right-wing media, reached across the Atlantic on Friday when President Trump’s press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, described the BBC as “100 percent fake news” and a “propaganda agency.”
The article was reported on Tuesday after the Daily Telegraph cited a memo compiled by Michael Prescott, a former member of the BBC’s Editorial Standards Board, expressing concerns about Mr Trump’s editing and criticizing anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic service.
The newspaper reported on Saturday that Priti Patel, a right-wing Conservative lawmaker, called for a review of funding for BBC Arabic through grants to the BBC World Service, alleging “pro-Hamas and anti-Israel bias”.
The station has been accused of favoring Israel in its coverage of the Gaza war, and has been criticized by its own staff.
Mr Davie’s resignation was celebrated by Nigel Farage, leader of the populist far-right Reform Britain Party, which is soaring in the opinion polls.
“This is the last chance for the BBC. If they don’t get this right, huge numbers of people will refuse to pay their license fees,” Mr Farage told X.
