Top-level resignations from the BBC over the editing of a speech by US President Donald Trump have blown the lid off wider tensions at the British broadcaster over how it is run and whether it still commands public trust in its journalism.
BBC director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness quit on Sunday after an internal report by a former adviser that was leaked to the Daily Telegraph cited failings in its coverage of Trump, the Israel-Hamas war and transgender issues. Rather than contain the scandal, the resignations have plunged the British institution into its biggest crisis in decades, with the publicly owned broadcaster left without a leader just as it faces a review of the charter that determines its funding.
Even the BBC’s supporters acknowledge that the licence fee — paid by all television-owning households and a large part of its funding — is increasingly out of date when viewers are turning to the likes of Netflix, YouTube and social media for news and entertainment.
PUBLIC TRUST A MUST
“The most important asset the BBC has is trust, and its reputation is based on the fact that its news provision is impartial, it’s objective, it’s properly sourced and checked,” said John Whittingdale, a Conservative lawmaker and former British minister for media, tourism and creative industries. “And if viewers and listeners can no longer have confidence in that then that is hugely damaging to the BBC.”
Enders Analysis founder Claire Enders said a new leader should be appointed as soon as possible to “restore the trust there has to be in the BBC for it to survive the charter.”
Established in 1922, the BBC is one of the world’s oldest media organizations and has been respected worldwide for its journalism. The group broadcasts in 42 languages.
As well as airing TV and radio, the BBC, which is a client of Reuters, runs the biggest English-language news Web site in the world, industry magazine Press Gazette said.
‘INSTITUTIONAL BIAS’
The Telegraph last week published excerpts of the memo written earlier this year by former standards adviser Michael Prescott, who listed what he said were editorial failings that revealed institutionalized left-leaning bias among staff.
The most serious was the revelation that a Panorama documentary aired just before the US presidential election in November last year had spliced together two parts of a Trump speech, so he appeared to be encouraging the Capitol Hill riot of Jan. 6, 2021.
The documentary was made by an independent production company.
Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC: The president’s lawyers said it must retract its documentary by today or face a lawsuit for “no less” than US$1 billion, a letter sent on Sunday showed.
The BBC, which on Monday said the editing was an “error of judgement,” added that it was considering how to respond.
Prescott, a former Sunday Times political journalist, said he had compiled his memo, because he was in “despair” at a lack of action by BBC bosses when failings came to light.
After the memo was published, the corporation seemed paralyzed for days, saying only that it did not comment on leaked documents.
BBC media correspondent Katie Razzall and top political presenter Nick Robinson said they had been told there was a clash with the board, with news executives wanting to publish an apology and the board preventing it.
The two also pointed the finger at BBC board member Robbie Gibb, a spokesman for former British prime minister Theresa May, as a critic of the BBC’s news output.
Gibb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BBC chairman Samir Shah said the board had not blocked an apology, but had wanted time to respond.
Board members held different views and engaged in robust arguments, but the suggestion by some media commentators that a “coup” had taken place with the resignations of Davie and Turness was “fanciful,” he said.
Shah apologized for the Trump edit, but said “the BBC News’ DNA and culture” was impartiality.
Surveys showed Britons trusted BBC News more than any other news outlet, he added.
‘RIGHT-WING CAMPAIGN’
Supporters of the broadcaster, including journalists at the Guardian and the Financial Times, and some BBC staff, believe there was an orchestrated right-wing campaign to undermine the corporation, public statements showed.
“This is a crisis created by political and commercial opponents to public service broadcasting and the BBC,” said Diane Coyle, an economist and vice chair of a former BBC governing body.
Supporters said daily leaks of criticism from the memo ramped up pressure, while high-profile figures such as former British Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson fueled the controversy.
Alan Rusbridger, former editor of the Guardian who now heads Prospect magazine, said many on the BBC board came from a background of finance or business, or had not worked in journalism for a long time.
As well as a new director-general, the corporation needed stronger governance, he said.
“The board itself is not really well placed to make fine editorial judgements,” Rusbridger said. “Any director-general coming in would want to know who’s got their back and whether there are people who can make the judgements and defend the journalism when it needs to be defended, or reach sophisticated judgements on when it needs to be corrected or apologized for.”
LICENCE FEE MODEL
The scandal comes as the government prepares to review whether the BBC’s licence fee model is sustainable and whether other options should be considered as part of the charter renewal. The 10-year charter expires in 2027.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government supported the BBC and denied it was institutionally biased.
The BBC has long faced intense scrutiny from many national newspapers and critics on social media, who object to its funding model and perceived liberal stance.
The organization’s revenue rose 9 percent to ￡5.9 billion (US$7.75 billion) in 2024-2025, driven by the licence fee and commercial income, but the number of people canceling their licences has been increasing over the past few years.
The loss of 300,000 licences last year alone cost the BBC about ￡50 million in income.
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