LONDON — The BBC’s director-general, Tim Davie, and the corporation’s head of news, Deborah Turness, both announced their resignations Sunday following criticism over how the broadcaster edited remarks by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The dispute centers on a BBC documentary that trimmed Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 comments before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Critics said the edit removed a passage in which Trump urged supporters to demonstrate peacefully, creating a misleading impression of his words.
In a letter to staff, Davie said stepping down after five years was “entirely my decision,” accepting that as director-general he must take ultimate responsibility and acknowledging mistakes. He said he is working with the BBC board on timing to ensure an orderly transition to a successor in the coming months.
Turness, who led BBC News and Current Affairs, said the controversy had become damaging to “an institution that I love.” She said the “buck stops with me,” that public leaders must be fully accountable, and that she was therefore leaving. Turness defended the broadcaster against claims of institutional bias while conceding errors had been made.
Pressure on senior management intensified after the Daily Telegraph published parts of a dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, an external adviser on standards and guidelines. The dossier criticized the Trump edit, questioned BBC coverage of transgender issues, and raised concerns about alleged anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic service.
The BBC is funded by an annual TV licence fee of £174.50 and is bound by a charter that requires impartiality, factors that have increased scrutiny of its editorial decisions.