london
—
BBC director-general Tim Davie and News Corp chief executive Deborah Turness resigned on Sunday following criticism of News Corp’s impartiality and bias.
Concerns have been raised in recent days about how the BBC misleadingly edited US President Donald Trump’s speech, which was broadcast in a Panorama documentary.
Mr Davie announced in a memo to staff on Sunday afternoon that he was stepping down as director general of British Broadcasting, the BBC said.
Davey said in a statement that his resignation was “entirely my decision.”
“Overall the BBC has done well, but there have been some mistakes and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility,” he said.
Mr Davie said he would work with the BBC’s board on the transition to his successor.
Mr Turness, who announced he was resigning at the same time as Mr Davie, said in a statement on the BBC’s website: “The ongoing controversy surrounding ‘Panorama’ about President Trump has reached a point where it is damaging to the BBC, which I love.”
“The responsibility lies with me,” Turness said, adding that he had tendered his resignation to Tim Davie on Saturday.
“While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear that recent claims that BBC News is institutionally biased are false,” she added.
His resignation was announced after a whistleblower memo obtained by the Telegraph revealed that the BBC had broadcast a “fabricated” version of Trump’s speech in which he appeared to encourage the Capitol rioters that he would walk with them to “fight like hell”.
In fact, in a speech in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, President Trump said, “We’re going to walk to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators, congressmen and women.”
According to a leaked internal memo, the documentary spliced together footage to make it appear as if the US president said things he did not actually say.
After this report came out, President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., shared it on X and wrote, “The fake news ‘reporters’ in the UK are just as dishonest and full of Ss as the reporters here in America!!!!”
In response to the allegations, President Donald Trump’s press secretary accused the BBC of “100% fake news” and a “propaganda agency.”
White House official Caroline Leavitt said in a recent interview with the Telegraph that British taxpayers are “being made to pay for a left-wing propaganda machine”.
Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, thanked Mr Davie for his work at the BBC after announcing his resignation.
“He led the BBC through a period of major change and helped the organization meet the challenges it has faced in recent years,” Nandy said in an X post.
“Now more than ever, the need for reliable news and quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life and our place in the world,” she said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
