The boss and news director of British broadcaster the BBC has resigned. The background is allegations in connection with the Trump documentary. It is unclear what will happen after the resignation.
The head of British broadcaster the BBC, Tim Davie, has resigned following accusations that the broadcaster distorted statements by US President Donald Trump. News director Deborah Turness also threw her hat in the ring, according to the station Sunday night.
Davie said he had decided to leave the BBC. He took this decision alone and is grateful for the support, even in the last few days. The current debate is not the only reason, but contributed to his decision. “Some mistakes were made” and as director general he must ultimately take responsibility for those mistakes.
Davie thanked the BBC board of directors “for their unanimous support throughout my tenure and also over recent days.” He will now work with the leadership and other BBC oversight bodies to prepare an orderly transition.
Trump Interview cut
The specific trigger for this development was an internal BBC report leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, in which there were serious allegations against the broadcaster’s reporting – mainly because of the article about Trump.
Specifically, it is about the BBC documentary “Trump: A Second Chance?”, which was broadcast a few weeks before the US election last year, which Trump won. In the production of the Panorama program, footage of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, moments before thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, was edited together.
In an unedited recording of his speech, Trump said: “We will march to the Capitol and support our brave senators and representatives in Congress.” In the next part of his speech, Trump said, referring to the election results, that something was wrong, that could not be right, “and we are fighting, fighting as hard as we can.” In the BBC documentary, these two sentences were put together directly, giving the impression that Trump was directly calling on his supporters to storm the seats of the US Congress.
For his role in the storming of the Capitol, Trump was impeached in 2023 on charges including conspiracy to obstruct official acts and defrauding the United States. After Trump’s election victory on November 5, 2024, special prosecutor Jack Smith was forced to end criminal proceedings against the Republican.
The government demanded clarification
British Culture Minister Lisa Nandy described the allegations against the BBC as “extremely serious.” He thanked Davie for his work and said he had led the station through a period of significant change. Davie has led the BBC since 2020.
The British Broadcasting Corporation – its full name – offers a wide range of television, radio and online programming and enjoys a high reputation throughout the world. But at home, the broadcaster has been under pressure for years to maintain its commitment to impartiality. The BBC is funded by fees paid by all households that own a television. This financing model and the broadcaster’s perceived liberal stance have long been heavily criticized by several national newspapers and social media portals.
