(London, November 9) BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News Chief Executive Officer Deborah Turness announced their resignations on Sunday (November 9) amid controversy surrounding the editing of a documentary about US President Donald Trump.
Davi, who had led the BBC since 2020, stated in his resignation announcement: “Like all public institutions, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always remain open, transparent, and accountable. While not the only reason, the controversy surrounding BBC News has clearly contributed to my decision… I must take ultimate responsibility.”
Turness also said that the ongoing controversy surrounding the documentary has damaged the BBC. However, she said: “While there have certainly been some mistakes, I must make it clear that recent allegations of systemic bias in BBC News are false.”
Trump responded on Sunday, claiming that the BBC’s “corrupt journalists” were highly dishonest and attempted to manipulate the US presidential election.
The BBC has been accused of misleading viewers multiple times this year, with the latest controversy stemming from the exclusive disclosure last week of excerpts from an internal BBC memo by the UK’s Daily Telegraph.
Further Reading
A week before the US presidential election last November, the BBC program Panorama aired a documentary titled "Trump: A Second Chance?" which was accused of splicing together two clips of Trump's speech to make it appear as if Trump was inciting supporters to participate in the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021. As a result, it was criticized and condemned by the White House.
