LONDON — The BBC’s boss and its head of news quit on Sunday, Nov. 9, following criticism over bias at the British broadcaster, including in the way it edited a speech by 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, trans issues, and a speech made by Trump.
The White House had recently denounced the broadcaster as a “propaganda machine” after its flagship Panorama program was found to have edited two parts of Trump’s speech together so he appeared to encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.
Tim Davie, who has led the British Broadcasting Corporation since 2020, said he decided to leave after “reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times”.
Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, also resigned.
Respected overseas, questioned over news judgment
Widely respected around the world, the BBC has in recent years been accused of failing to maintain its commitment to impartial news, struggling to navigate the deeply polarized political and social environment.
The leaked internal report said BBC Arabic had shown anti-Israel bias in its reporting of the war in Gaza and that stories that raised difficult questions around trans issues had been suppressed by a small group of staff.
The corporation, which is funded by a license fee paid by all television-watching households, comes under intense scrutiny from some national newspapers and critics on social media, who object to its funding model and perceived liberal stance.
In recent years, it has also struggled to contain scandals over the opinion on immigration of its most highly paid sports presenter, Gary Lineker, which briefly led to a walk-out by staff, and it was condemned for showing punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting against the Israeli military at Glastonbury.
It also 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 they would “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the BBC as “100% fake news” in an interview published on Friday.
Davie 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 said in “these increasingly polarised times” the BBC was of unique value, helping to build a healthy society and thriving creative sector, arguing it should be championed not weaponized.
But he said it was not perfect, and while the recent scandal was not the only reason for his departure, it had been a factor, and he had to take ultimate responsibility.
The BBC, which has to negotiate a new charter with the government in 2027 to guarantee its future finances, had appeared to struggle to respond to the recent run of negative headlines.
The chairman, Samir Shah, had been expected to apologize to lawmakers for the furore on Monday, Nov. 10.
Turness said in an email to staff that while mistakes had been made, “I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton and Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Bill Berkrot)
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