By Abiola Olawale
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), one of the world’s most prominent public broadcasting stations, has been rocked by an editorial scandal leading to the resignations of its Director-General, Tim Davie, and its CEO of News, Deborah Turness.
The New Diplomat reports that their resignation follows intense pressure over a leaked internal memo alleging the broadcaster’s flagship investigative programme, Panorama, “completely misled” viewers by editing a speech by United States President Donald Trump.
The controversy centers on a documentary aired just a week before the 2024 US election, which allegedly spliced together separate clips from Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear as though he was directly inciting violence at the US Capitol.
Announcing his resignation, Davie said in a statement posted on the BBC website: “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… I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
Reacting to the development, Trump said “corrupt journalists” had been exposed, adding “these are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election”.
The latest controversy follows a Daily Telegraph report this week that said concerns were first raised in the summer in a memo on impartiality by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee.
Earlier Sunday, the UK Culture, Media and Sport Minister Lisa Nandy called the allegations “incredibly serious”.
The BBC has promised “a full response” to parliament’s culture, media and sport committee on Monday.
