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British Broadcasting Corporation director general Tim Davie and the chief executive of news, Deborah Turness, have resigned following criticism that a BBC documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.
“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 said in a statement.
“I have been reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times, combined with the fact that I want to give a successor time to help shape the charter plans they will be delivering.
“Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility,” he said.
The Daily Telegraph had reported for days on an internal document produced by a former BBC adviser on standards who had listed a raft of errors, including in the way a speech by Trump on 6 January 2001 was edited.
The document suggested the Panorama program had edited two parts of Trump’s speech together so he appeared to directly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021 — cutting out a section where Trump said that he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
Turness said 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.”
The resignations come after concerns about impartiality at the BBC were raised this week.
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