BBC Bosses Resign After Trump Documentary Sparks Row Over Edited January 6 Speech

Last Updated:November 10, 2025, 01:06 IST

BBC director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness resigned after Panorama was accused of misleadingly editing a Donald Trump speech in a documentary.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie is pictured at BBC World Service offices in London. He resigned over an editing of a Panorama documentary on Donald Trump in a misleading way. (IMAGE: AP PHOTO)

BBC Director General Tim Davie on Sunday announced his resignation following a row over the editing of a Panorama documentary on US President Donald Trump.

Davie and the broadcaster’s head of news, Deborah Turness, stepped down after the Panorama programme was accused of misleading viewers by editing a segment of Trump’s speech, the BBC said.

The controversy centred on claims that the editing altered the meaning of the President’s remarks, prompting widespread criticism of the broadcaster’s editorial judgment.

The British broadcaster was facing allegations of bias against Donald Trump after British newspaper The Telegraph in a report suggested that BBC Panorama misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The newspaper also published details and external of a leaked internal BBC memo which suggested the programme edited and put together two parts of Trump’s speech together which made it appear like he explicitly encouraged the Capitol Hill riots of January 6, 2021.

A report from the broadcaster said that the leaked memo came from Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the broadcaster’s editorial standards committee. Prescott left the organisation in June.

The Telegraph also reported that the BBC is preparing to issue an apology for misleadingly editing US President Donald Trump’s January 6 speech.

According to the report, BBC Chairman Samir Shah will write to the UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Monday to express regret over how the Panorama documentary spliced together parts of Trump’s remarks.

The apology letter is expected early next week.

Davie, Turness Respond

“I wanted to let you know that I have decided to leave the BBC after 20 years. This is entirely my decision, and I remain very thankful to the Chair and Board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, including during recent days. Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility," Davie said.

Deborah Turness, who has resigned as CEO of BBC News, said “the ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love".

“The buck stops with me," she said and added that she offered her resignation to Tim Davie on Saturday.

News world BBC Bosses Resign After Trump Documentary Sparks Row Over Edited January 6 Speech

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