The director general of the BBC and the head of its news division have announced their resignations over a documentary which was accused of spreading fake news about U.S. President Donald Trump.
Director General Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness resigned from the BBC on Sunday, the public broadcaster announced.
Their resignations came in the wake of heavy criticism after an internal memo accused the BBC of having “materially misled” viewers into believing that President Donald Trump had encouraged supporters to riot on January 6th, 2021, by splicing separate and unrelated sections of his speech that day.
In a statement, Davie, who upon taking the top role in 2020 had vowed to restore trust in the BBC’s commitment to impartiality, said: “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.
“I am working through exact timings with the Board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months. I have been reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times, combined with the fact that I want to give a successor time to help shape the Charter plans they will be delivering.
“In these increasingly polarised times, the BBC is of unique value and speaks to the very best of us. It helps make the UK a special place; overwhelmingly kind, tolerant and curious. Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable. While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.
“Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
The resignations came amid fierce backlash over allegations levied by former BBC Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC) advisor Michael Prescott, who alleged that the broadcaster had “mangled” footage to make it appear that President Trump had encouraged violence before the January 6th riots.
According to the Prescott memo, a BBC Panorama documentary aired shortly before last year’s presidential election “spliced” two clips from President Trump’s January 6th speech, making it seem that he told supporters to go to the Capitol building and “fight like hell”.
In reality, President Trump urged supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” gather at the Capitol, while the “fight like hell” clip came from 54 minutes later in the speech when the President was discussing his belief that the election had been stolen.
Prescott said that despite raising the issue with BBC bosses, his concerns were repeatedly “dismissed or ignored”.
“If BBC journalists are to be allowed to edit video in order to make people ‘say’ things they never actually said, then what value are the corporation’s guidelines, why should the BBC be trusted, and where will this all end?” he questioned.
The allegations levied in the Prescott memo sparked heavy criticism, including by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who demanded that Davie either “explain or resign”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt decried that the British public are “forced to foot the bill for a Leftist propaganda machine” through the BBC licence fee, which is mandatory for anyone who watches broadcast television in the UK, whether they watch the BBC or not. Those who fail to pay the fee face fines or even jail time.
“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom,” she told The Telegraph.
“Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their blatant propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place.”
In comments provided to Breitbart London, Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage MP said: “Davie and Turness going must be the start of wholesale change.
“The government need to appoint somebody with a record of coming in and turning companies and their cultures around. Preferably it would be someone coming in from the private sector who has run a forward facing business and understands PR.
“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.”
