Helen Catt
Political correspondent

Last week, the committee of MPs wrote to the BBC Chair Samir Shah saying the BBC had “serious questions to answer” about the Panorama editing of a Donald Trump speech and asked him what action was being taken.

As my colleague Helen Bushby just reported, the Chair of the Committee, Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage, has tonight said her committee will meet on Tuesday to consider the BBC’s response and decide its “next steps.”

The Committee can ask witnesses to give evidence to it in person so, if they aren’t satisfied, it’s possible we could see Shah called in to explain more.

Both Shah and Tim Davie have appeared before the Committee in the past.

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter

Image source, UK Parliament

Tim Davie's decision to step down is "regrettable", given the "huge commitment to the BBC and public service broadcasting he has demonstrated during his time at the helm", said Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

But she added that "restoring trust in the corporation must come first".

"The BBC Board must now begin the long process of rebuilding the corporation’s reputation both at home and abroad, after the damage caused by what has become a seemingly constant stream of crises and missteps," she said.

The committee wrote to BBC chair Samir Shah on Tuesday, asking what action is being taken over concerns raised by Michael Prescott,a former adviser to the corporation’s editorial standards body. , external

"A reply is expected tomorrow," Dame Caroline said, adding the committee will meet on Tuesday to "consider the BBC chair’s response to our letter and next steps".

She stated that the government should now "bring forward the charter review process" so the public and Parliament can help shape the future direction of the BBC. The charter, drawn up by the government, sets out the terms and purposes of the BBC's existence and normally lasts for about a decade.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has thanked Tim Davie tonight but the pair have had something of a strained relationship.

It doesn’t appear, though, that government pressure has played much of a role in these departures – certainly, at least, in relation to this week’s accusations.

Nandy has been happy to strongly criticise Davie in the past.

Just a few months ago, in July, she accused him, and the BBC Chair, of not providing an “adequate explanation” of how a documentary about Gaza, which was narrated by the son of a Hamas official, came to be aired.

She also said the “BBC leadership” had to “get a grip” after the corporation failed to cut a live feed of the punk rap duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury Festival.

Interestingly, she seemed less critical when asked by Laura Kuenssberg this morning about last week’s accusations of bias.

I’m told she wasn’t aware then that he was going to resign but that she was told before his resignation was announced.

Trump's view that mainstream media is biased against him is not newpublished at 21:45 GMT 9 November

21:45 GMT 9 November

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

This is the first time Donald Trump has commented on the controversy surrounding the 2024 Panorama documentary on his re-election bid.

Taking to Truth Social to share his views on the resignation of the BBC bosses, the president calls BBC Director-General Tim Davie and his leadership team “very dishonest people”. And he accuses the BBC of trying to “step on the scales of a presidential election”.

The Panorama documentary had edited portions of Trump’s 6 January, 2021, speech in a way that made it appear the president had explicitly called for his supporters to attack the US Capitol, where Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory.

Davie’s departure, along with CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness, came primarily as a result of growing pressure from within the UK, but the White House is also taking some credit for the move.

On Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the BBC “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine”. On Sunday, she took to X to draw a direct line from Trump ”going to war” with the BBC and the resignations.

Trump and senior administration officials have frequently characterised the mainstream news media as biased against them – a sentiment that stretches back to the president’s first national campaign in 2015.

The White House has often celebrated what it views as instances when media outlets have faced negative consequences for its news coverage.

In June, Leavitt accused the BBC of misreporting, and then backing away from, its coverage of an attack at a Gaza refugee camp. The BBC stood by its reporting of what it said was a “fast-moving news story”.

We're now hearing from US President Donald Trump about the BBC resignations. He posted on his Truth social platform:

"The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught “doctoring” my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th.

"Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt “Journalists.” These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election.

"On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!"

The BBC losing both director general and head of News is highly unusualpublished at 20:42 GMT 9 November

20:42 GMT 9 November

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter

This is unprecedented news, for the corporation to lose two such senior and important posts at the same time.

Between them, Tim Davie and Deborah Turness had responsibility for the corporation's output, and carried its reputation.

As director general, Davie was the BBC's most senior figure - he was its editorial, operational and creative leader. Turness, as its CEO of News, headed up the corporation's news output, across TV, radio and online, which is followed around the world.

The corporation has weathered the resignation of directors general before now, such as George Entwistle, who resigned in 2012, and Greg Dyke, who resigned in 2004.

But Davie and Turness's double resignation has left the BBC exposed and destabilised, while it has to regroup and find temporary staff to appoint into their roles.

Whoever replaces them will have to step straight into dealing with a series of recent critical news reports.

Some suggested bias at the corporation, including over how a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited, so the BBC will be a tough ship to steer.

The Telegraph reported that Michael Prescott also raised concerns about BBC Arabic's coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and a lack of action to address what he said were "systemic problems" of bias.

In response, a BBC spokesperson said "where mistakes have been made or errors have occurred we have acknowledged them at the time and taken action".

They added: "We have also previously acknowledged that certain contributors should not have been used and have improved our processes to avoid a repeat of this."

Mr Prescott had also raised concerns about the BBC's coverage around trans issues, saying it was effectively "censored" by its specialist LGBT reporters who promoted a pro-trans agenda.

His leaked memo said he had felt "despair" at the lack of action by BBC management "when issues come to light".

Image source, Getty Images

The resignation of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness comes after The Telegraph published details, external of a leaked internal BBC memo suggesting Panorama edited a Donald Trump speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.

The leaked memo came from Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the broadcaster's editorial standards committee. He left the role in June.

Prescott raised concerns over the Panorama documentary Trump: A Second Chance? - which was broadcast last year and made for the BBC by independent production company October Films Ltd.

In his speech in Washington DC on 6 January 2021, Trump said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."

However, in the Panorama edit he was shown saying: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

The two sections of the speech that were edited together were more than 50 minutes apart.

The "fight like hell" comment was taken from a section where Trump discussed how "corrupt" US elections were. In total, he used the words "fight" or "fighting" 20 times in the speech.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says it's right that Davie and Turness have resigned, but adds there has been a "catalogue of serious failures that runs far deeper".

"The Prescott report exposed institutional bias that cannot be swept away with two resignations - strong action must be taken on all the issues it raised," she writes on X, adding: "BBC Arabic must be brought under urgent control. The BBC’s US and Middle East coverage needs a full overhaul."

Badenoch ends by saying that the new leadership will have to deliver "genuine reform of the culture of the BBC", adding: "It should not expect the public to keep funding it through a compulsory licence fee unless it can finally demonstrate true impartiality."

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter

The director general is the BBC's editorial, operational and creative leader, responsible for its global workforce running services across television, radio and online.

They are appointed by the BBC Board, which is responsible for ensuring it delivers the corporation's mission and public purposes.

The BBC Board is led by chair Samir Shah and, including him, there are 10 non-executive members, plus four executive members, including the director general.

When Tim Davie was appointed in 2020, the process for choosing who would get the role was led by the BBC Board’s nominations committee.

The director general's appointment is made under the terms of the BBC’s Charter, which is the constitutional basis for the BBC. Drawn up by the government, it sets out the terms and purposes of the BBC's existence and normally lasts for about a decade.

BBC Director General Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness have resigned following criticism that a Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.

It comes after The Telegraph published details, external of a leaked internal BBC memo suggesting the programme edited two parts of Trump's speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.

In a statement, Davie said: "Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility".

Turness said that "the ongoing controversy" around Panorama documentary "has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC". She added that "the buck stops with me".

Davie's departure after five years as boss follows other separate BBC controversies in recent months, including of Glastonbury coverage. He and Turness had already been under pressure over a range of issues, including the Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary, where the BBC failed to disclose that the narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has welcomed Davie's resignation and thanked him for his leadership of the BBC through a period of "significant change".

There is no information yet on when a new director general will be appointed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has posted two words on X in response to Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resigning.

She posts two screenshots of news articles side by side, external: above the first she writes "shot" over a Telegraph article with the headline: "Trump goes to war with 'fake news' BBC".

"Chaser" she writes above the second - a BBC News article announcing Tim Davie's resignation.

Earlier this week, Leavitt called the BBC "100% fake news" in response to a Panorama documentary which was critised as misleading viewers over the way a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited.

Image source, Getty Images

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resigning from the BBC must be "the start of wholesale change".

He says the government need to appoint somebody with "a record of coming in and turning companies and their cultures around".

"This is the BBC's last chance. If they don't get this right, there will be vast numbers of people refusing to pay the licence fee," Farage adds.

Image source, PA Media

Turning to some more political reaction, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says: "The BBC isn’t perfect, but it remains one of the few institutions standing between our British values and a populist, Trump-style takeover of our politics."

He says the resignation of Davie and Turness "must be an opportunity for the BBC to turn a new leaf".

"As a public service broadcaster, the BBC’s role is vital in ensuring our democracy is based on facts, scrutiny, and accountability," he says.

'Teflon Tim' survived many scandals, but not thispublished at 18:50 GMT 9 November

18:50 GMT 9 November

Ian Youngs
Culture reporter

Image source, PA Media

Tim Davie has weathered many scandals and crises during his five years at the helm of the BBC - including the Gary Lineker furore, Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, the Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary, and the transgressions of a string of high-profile presenters.

He was nicknamed "Teflon Tim" because nothing seemed to stick. He remained relaxed, in public at least, about these storms coming with the territory of being BBC director general.

He tried to ride out the latest controversy, too, but it has gathered steam, and the BBC was expected to issue an apology tomorrow for mistakes that have come to light in the past week about Panorama's editing of a Donald Trump speech, among other issues.

It obviously became apparent that his position - as well as that of CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness - had become untenable.

This comes at a sensitive time for the BBC, with the government set to review the corporation's royal charter - which essentially gives it the right to exist - before the current term expires in 2027.

As well as carrying the can as editor-in-chief for the latest revelations, he may have decided that the BBC would be better off being led into that phase by someone not associated with this, and other, failings.

Deborah Turness has been the CEO of BBC News since 2022, overseeing BBC News and Current Affairs programming.

In her role, she had responsibility for a team of around 6,000 people, broadcasting to almost half a billion people across the world in more than 40 languages.

She was previously CEO of ITN, and had led the organisation's post-Covid strategy for growth.

Prior to working at the BBC and ITN, she was president of NBC News from 2013 until 2017, and later president of NBC News International.

Before her stint at NBC, Deborah was editor of ITV News where she was their first female editor and the youngest ever editor of ITV News.

Image source, PA Media

Tim Davie became the director general of the BBC in September 2020.

He was the 17th person tasked with overseeing the corporation’s services as its editorial, operational and creative leader.

He was not a new figure to the BBC; prior to becoming director general Davie was chief executive of BBC Studios for seven years.

He oversaw the merger of BBC Worldwide, the distribution company, and the corporation’s production arm.

He was also acting director general of the BBC between November 2012 and April 2013. He is stepping down after 20 years with the corporation.

Before joining the BBC, Davie worked for organisations such as Procter and Gamble, and PepsiCo.

In 2018, he was appointed CBE for his services to international trade.

Pressure had been building for dayspublished at 18:40 GMT 9 November

18:40 GMT 9 November

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

The BBC will very much be hoping that these resignations take the pressure out of this situation.

It had been building for days, ever since a Telegraph report on Tuesday first suggested there had been an editing of a Panorama documentary in a misleading way.

It felt like it was just not going away.

What was interesting is that we heard from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy earlier saying she had full confidence in the director-general and chair of the BBC.

She said she fully backed them and was confident in the way they were handling this situation.

In that sense it does seem like quite a dramatic turn of events, considering where we were just a couple of hours ago.

Image source, PA Media

Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, thanks Tim Davie "for his service to public broadcasting over many years".

"He has led the BBC through a period of significant change and helped the organisation to grip the challenges it has faced in recent years," she writes in a statement on X.

"Now more than ever, the need for trusted news and high quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life, and our place in the world.

"As a government, we will support the Board as it manages this transition and ensure that the Charter Review is the catalyst that helps the BBC to adapt to this new era and secures its role at the heart of national life for decades to come."

We're now hearing from Deborah Turness, who has resigned as CEO of BBC News.

She says she has "taken the difficult decision that it will no longer be my role to lead you in the collective vision that we all have: to pursue the truth with no agenda".

She adds that "the ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love".

"The buck stops with me," she says, adding that she offered her resignation to Tim Davie on Saturday.

"While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong," she adds.

• Read Turness and Davie's resignation statements in full here