BBC top brass resign amid criticism over editing of Trump speech; also faced blowback for Gaza coverage

The director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness, resign amid criticism over the editing of a speech made by US President Donald Trump before rioters stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.

Critics said that the way the speech was edited for a BBC documentary was misleading and cut out a section where Trump said that he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

The announcement comes after excerpts from a report by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, were leaked to The Telegraph last week. The report accused the British broadcaster of “serious and systemic” problems in its coverage of Trump, Gaza, and trans issues.

“This is entirely my decision, and I remain very thankful to the chair and board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, including during recent days,” Davie says in a statement, adding that he has had “very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times.”

Turness says that the controversy about the Trump documentary “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC — an institution that I love. As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me.”

In addition to criticism of the Trump speech, Prescott’s report said that BBC Arabic chose to “minimize Israeli suffering” in the war against Hamas in Gaza so it could “paint Israel as the aggressor.”

It additionally noted that a report submitted to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board charged that allegations against Israel were “raced to air,” claiming that it was either a result of carelessness or “a desire always to believe the worst about Israel.”