LONDON, Nov 10 — The BBC’s boss and its head of news quit yesterday following accusations of bias at the British broadcaster, including in the way it edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.
The BBC had been under mounting pressure after an internal report by a former standards adviser was leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper which cited failings in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, transgender issues and a speech made by Trump.
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 riot of January 2021.
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.
Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, also resigned. In an email 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 judgement
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 transgender community.
In recent years it had struggled to contain multiple scandals. In one, 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 opposition.
It was condemned for showing punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting against the Israeli military at Glastonbury, and it pulled a documentary about Gaza earlier this year because it featured the son of a deputy minister in the Hamas-run government.
In the Panorama documentary broadcast last year, 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 said his supporters would “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women”.
Trump, in a social media post yesterday, 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 Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!” he said.
Davie defends BBC, news boss denies bias claims
British culture minister Lisa Nandy thanked Davie for his work as director general, saying he had led the broadcaster through a period of significant change.
A person familiar with the situation said Davie’s decision had left the BBC board stunned and he would stay on for the next few months while a replacement was found.
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 finances, had appeared to struggle to respond to the recent run of negative headlines.
The chairman, Samir Shah, had been expected to apologise to lawmakers for the furore today. — Reuters
BBC boss and news chief quit after Trump speech editing scandal, bias claims
