The concerns regard clips spliced together from sections of the US president’s speech on 6 January 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell” in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election.<\/p>\n
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4:13<\/p>\n
What did the BBC do to anger Trump?<\/p>\n
Mr Trump responded to the pair’s resignation on Sunday night, describing Mr Davie and Ms Turness as “very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election” in a post on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n
White House and others react to resignations – latest<\/a><\/p>\n Image: Image: ‘Ongoing controversy’<\/p>\n Mr Davie sent a message to staff on Sunday afternoon, saying it was “entirely” his decision to quit.<\/p>\n Admitting the BBC “is not perfect”, he said: “We must always be open, transparent and accountable.”<\/p>\n “While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.<\/p>\n “Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”<\/p>\n 1:09<\/p>\n Trump hits out at ‘dishonest’ BBC<\/p>\n Ms Turness told staff the “ongoing controversy” around the edition of Panorama “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love”.<\/p>\n She added: “The buck stops with me – and I took the decision to offer my resignation to the director-general last night.<\/p>\n “In public life, leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down. While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”<\/p>\n BBC Chair, Samir Shah called it “a very difficult day”, thanking Ms Turness and crediting her with having “transformed” the corporation’s news output.<\/p>\n Mr Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, posted a triumphant two-word reaction on X, using the drinking term “shot” to describe reports that the US president was “going to war with fake news”, referring to the BBC programme, and describing Mr Davie’s resignation as a “chaser” – a drink taken after the shot to soften the taste of the alcohol.<\/p>\n Image: Ms Leavitt later said the BBC “is dying because they are anti-Trump Fake News”.<\/p>\n In an interview published on Friday, she had described the BBC as “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine”.<\/p>\n Farage: ‘BBC’s last chance’<\/p>\n In a message posted on social media, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for leading the BBC through a period of “significant change”.<\/p>\n She called the organisation “one of our most important national institutions”, adding that “now, more than ever, the need for trusted news and high-quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life, and our place in the world”.<\/p>\n 7:08<\/p>\n BBC bosses are ‘victims in culture wars’<\/p>\n Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch<\/a>, said it was “right that Tim Davie and Deborah Turness have finally taken responsibility and resigned from the BBC”.<\/p>\n She said: “The culture at the BBC has not yet changed. BBC Arabic must be brought under urgent control. The BBC’s US and Middle East coverage needs a full overhaul.”<\/p>\n Ms Badenoch said it “should not expect the public to keep funding it through a compulsory licence fee unless it can finally demonstrate true impartiality”.<\/p>\n Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Sunday’s resignations “must be an opportunity for the BBC to turn a new leaf, rebuild trust and not give in to the likes of [Reform UK leader] Nigel Farage who want to destroy it”.<\/p>\n X<\/p>\n This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies. Enable Cookies<\/a> Mr Farage<\/a> said the pair’s resignations must be “the start of wholesale change” at the BBC.<\/p>\n He urged the ministers to appoint “somebody with a record of coming in and turning companies and their cultures around”, preferably someone “from the private sector who has run a forward-facing business and understands PR”.<\/p>\n Mr Farage said: “This is the BBC’s last chance. If they don’t get this right, there will be vast numbers of people refusing to pay the licence fee.”<\/p>\n As well as the Panorama show on Mr Trump, the BBC has also been accused of failing to maintain its neutrality in its coverage of the Israel<\/a>-Hamas war and over trans issues.<\/p>\n Read more on the BBC: The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) called for an independent inquiry into potential bias at the BBC, saying “growing bias” had been evident for “many years across a wide array of issues”.<\/p>\n The group claimed that, under Mr Davie and Ms Turness, the BBC had “often served as a mouthpiece for Hamas” and “gaslit” its audience “by claiming to be a bastion of ethics and truthful journalism”.<\/p>\n 1:29<\/p>\n Ex-Panorama staffer: Trump edit ‘worst crime imaginable’<\/p>\n Marcus Ryder, a former executive producer of current affairs at the BBC, called the resignations “really sad”, adding, “it shows the pressure and ethical climate that the BBC is operating in, that this edit can actually bring down the director- general”.<\/p>\n Dame Melanie Dawes, chief executive of Ofcom, thanked Mr Davie, saying he had led the organisation “at a time of great change and challenge”.<\/p>\n The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that a memo by a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee raised the issue, as well as other concerns about impartiality, in the summer.<\/p>\n Dealing with controversies<\/p>\n Mr Davie took the role in 2020, replacing Tony Hall.<\/p>\n During his time in charge of the broadcaster, he has dealt with a number of high-profile controversies within the corporation.<\/p>\n They include a row over former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker’s sharing of his political views, top presenter Huw Edwards being convicted of making indecent images of children, and the BBC’s broadcasting of Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury performance.<\/p>\n![\"File](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/skynews-tim-davie-bbc_7077339.jpg\")
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\n File pic: PA<\/p>\n![\"Deborah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/skynews-deborah-turness-ceo-bbc-news_7077332.jpg\")
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\n Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs. Pic: PA <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/skynews-trump-us_6989945.jpg\")
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\n Donald Trump boarding Air Force One last week. Pic: Reuters<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/c5e035da00cf9a1956ee990f2a96c09e6703dabd5187ebdec239a657501d6f60_7077581.jpg\")
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