BBC boss and head of news quit after Trump documentary edit criticism

LONDON – The BBC’s boss and its head of news quit on Nov 9 following criticism over bias at the British broadcaster, including in the way it edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The publicly funded BBC had been under mounting pressure after an internal report by a former standards adviser, which cited

failings in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

, transgender issues and a speech made by Mr Trump, was leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Mr Trump welcomed the departures, criticising the two as “very dishonest people” after the BBC’s flagship Panorama programme edited two parts of one of his speeches together so he appeared to be encouraging the Capitol Hill riots of Jan 6, 2021.

Mr Tim Davie, who has led the British Broadcasting Corporation since 2020, defended the organisation, saying its journalism was seen as the gold standard around the world. But he said mistakes had been made and he had to take ultimate responsibility.

Ms Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, also resigned. In an e-mail to staff, she said: “I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”

Respected overseas, questioned over news judgment

Widely respected around the world, the BBC still tops polls in Britain on the most trusted news brand and has huge reach in the country, providing news, entertainment and sport.

But the corporation, which is funded by a licence fee paid by all television-watching households, comes under intense scrutiny from some national newspapers and critics on social media, which object to its funding model and perceived liberal stance.

It has in recent years been accused of failing to maintain its commitment to impartial news by critics on both sides of the political divide, struggling to navigate the fractious political and cultural environment.

The leaked internal report said BBC Arabic had shown anti-Israel bias in its reporting of the war in Gaza and that an effort to cover a group campaigning for single-sex spaces had been suppressed by a small group of staff who saw it as hostile to the trans community.

The report was written by Mr Michael Prescott, a former political editor of The Sunday Times. He was an independent adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board for three years before he left in June.

He compiled a dossier for the BBC’s board after he said bosses had “repeatedly failed” to tackle what he described as multiple examples of an institutional bias.

Multiple scandals

The BBC has in recent years struggled to contain multiple scandals.

In 2023, Mr Gary Lineker, at the time its most highly paid sports presenter, was suspended for criticising the government’s immigration policy. That briefly led to many sports staff walking off the job in solidarity.

The BBC was also condemned for showing punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting against the Israeli military at this summer’s Glastonbury music festival, and it pulled a documentary about Gaza earlier in 2025 because it featured the son of a deputy minister in the Hamas-run government.

In the Panorama documentary of the Capitol Hill riots that was broadcast in 2024, Mr Trump was shown telling his supporters that “we’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and that they would “fight like hell”, a comment he made in a different part of his speech.

He had actually followed up that remark about walking to the Capitol by saying they would “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women”.

Mr Trump, in a social media post on Nov 9, accused the two executives of having tried to influence a US presidential election.

“On top of everything else, they are from a foreign country, one that many consider our No. 1 ally. What a terrible thing for democracy,” he said.

BBC chairman Samir Shah on Nov 10 apologised for an “error of judgment” and acknowledged that the Trump speech edit gave a misleading impression and should have been handled more carefully.

In a letter to British lawmakers, he noted the issue had been reviewed internally earlier in the year, and said the broadcaster should have taken formal action at the time.

Not an easy decision

UK Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for his work, saying he had led the broadcaster through a period of significant change.

A person familiar with the situation said Mr Davie’s decision had left the BBC board stunned and that he would stay on for the next few months while a replacement was being found.

Mr Davie defended the corporation, saying it should be championed, not weaponised, due to its role in helping to build a healthy society and thriving creative sector.

But he said it was not perfect and he had made his decision after “reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times”.

The BBC, which has to negotiate a new charter with the government in 2027 to guarantee its future finances, had been slow to respond to the recent run of negative headlines, and the BBC’s media editor Katie Razzall said a dispute between the corporation’s board and leaders of news had held up an official response for days. REUTERS