BBC chairman Samir Shah has apologised for an "error of judgment" over the editing of a Donald Trump speech in a Panorama documentary. The controversy prompted the resignations of Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness on Sunday, after more than 500 complaints were received.
The documentary broadcast before last year's US election edited clips from Trump's January 6, 2021 speech. Shah acknowledged in a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee: «We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.» A memo by Michael Prescott, former external adviser to the BBC's editorial standards committee, had raised concerns about the editing in the summer.
Defence of BBC journalism
Turness told BBC News at Broadcasting House in central London on Monday: «I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me.» She defended the broadcaster against accusations of bias: «But I'd like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. That's why it's the world's most trusted news provider.»
Turness addressed questions about BBC journalists, stating: «Of course our journalists aren't corrupt, our journalists are hard-working people who strive for impartiality, and I will stand by their journalism. There is no institutional bias. Mistakes are made, but there's no institutional bias.»
Davie, who had been Director-General for five years, said in a statement on Sunday that while the BBC was «delivering well», he acknowledged «there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility». Trump welcomed the resignations on social media, claiming an attempt to «step on the scales of a presidential election» and calling it «What a terrible thing for Democracy!»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
