In Speech to Staff, BBC Boss Admits ‘Mistake’ Over Panorama Editing of Trump

Outgoing Director-General Tim Davie, who quit following a damning internal report on bias, urged staff to ‘fight’ against what he termed the BBC’s ‘enemies.’

(Left) CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness at an event in London on Oct. 13, 2022. (Right) BBC Director-General Tim Davie at the BBC World Service in London on April 28, 2022. Both resigned on Nov. 9 over criticism of how the BBC edited President Donald Trump's January 6, 2021 speech. Leon Neal/Getty Images, Hannah McKay/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Outgoing BBC Director-General Tim Davie, who resigned following a scandal over the alleged misleading editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump, told staff on Tuesday the corporation has to “stand up for our journalism” in what he said was a battle against the corporation’s “enemies.”

Davie quit on Sunday following a scandal over the way the BBC’s Panorama documentary cut and spliced together statements Trump made some 54 minutes apart in his speech on Jan. 6. 2021, falsely creating the impression that he urged his supporters to “fight like hell,“ when he had in fact called for them to ”go peacefully.”