Tim Davie tells BBC staff to ‘stand up for our journalism’ but admits ‘mistake’ was made over Panorama clip of Dоnɑld Tгuмρ
Tim Davie has told BBC staff that the corporation has to ‘stand up for our journalism’ in a defiant statement against what he called the broadcaster’s ‘enemies’ – while admitting a ‘mistake’ was made with an edited clip of Dоnɑld Tгuмρ.
The outgoing director–general said he would not let foes control the narrative as the embattled public service broadcaster swats off a series of scandals detailed in an internal memo.
However, he admitted in an address to staff that ‘we did make a mistake’ after Panorama aired two clips of the US President that, edited together, appeared to show him inciting violent action ahead of the January 6 Capitol riots.
Mr Davie quit along the BBC’s head of news Deborah Turness on Sunday. Yesterday, BBC chairman Samir Shah admitted there had been an ‘error of judgement’ in the editing. Tгuмρ has threatened to sue the corporation for $1billion (£761million).
‘I think we did make a mistake, and there was an editorial breach, and I think some responsibility had to be taken,’ Mr Davie told employees in the address – confirming that he had chosen to finally fall on his sword after enduring countless BBC rows.
However, he paid tribute to his colleague Ms Turness, describing her as an ‘absolute fighter for impartiality’, adding: ‘I think we should credit her for doing a really tough job for a period in which (has) been really tough, because the level of weaponisation and polarisation in the world is out there, but she’s done a stellar job.’
Describing the crisis as ‘very discombobulating’ for staff, the BBC boss stressed that he wanted to see them ‘stand up for our journalism’ so the ‘narrative will not just be given by our enemies’.
‘These times are difficult for the BBC, but we get through them… and we will thrive. And this narrative will not just be given by our enemies. It’s our narrative,’ he said.
‘I’ve been here before, and the key thing is, the BBC is more than one person.
‘We have to be very clear and stand up for our journalism. We are a unique and precious organisation, and I see the free press under pressure, I see the weaponisation. I think we’ve got to fight for our journalism.’
He repeated a claim from the BBC’s own annual reports that trust has grown in the organisation – and claimed that it was a ‘difficult decision’ to resign.
Ultimately, he told staff, he also resigned for the sake of his personal life, and to let someone else take the reigns ahead of the BBC’s Charter being renewed at the end of 2027 – which is widely expected to herald the end of the traditional licence fee.
‘I thought at some point I’m not going to be at the BBC, and I need to reflect on that and the relentlessness of it and ensure that it’s done in a way that does work for the BBC…Putting that together, that’s what made my decision,’ he concluded.
Outgoing BBC director–general Tim Davie has told staff to ‘stand up for our journalism’ in an internal briefing (pictured) after announcing his resignation
Mr Davie pictured outside New Broadcasting House today, where he also spoke briefly to reporters in the wake of the Tгuмρ Panorama scandal
Mr Davie had earlier insisted reporters were doing ‘incredibly important’ work as he spoke outside New Broadcasting House in London this morning.
He added that he is ‘very proud’ of BBC journalists and the corporation is ‘going to be thriving’ in his first public remarks since he resigned.
Looking solemn as he approached reporters, Mr Davie said: ‘I’m here to lead and support the BBC. I’m very, very proud of our journalists in this building.
‘They’re doing work that I think is incredibly important. I want to thank every one of them, they’re doing a wonderful job – also, everyone across the BBC doing their thing, their bit for the UK.
‘Personally, I’m here to lead and support them. The BBC is going to be thriving and I support every one of the team. I’m very proud of them.’
Mr Davie, arrived at work wearing white trainers and a dark blue Reiss suit. He did not answer questions, but flashed a brief thumbs up before entering the building.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to make a statement in the Commons on the issues plaguing the BBC today.
Yesterday, the BBC confirmed it had received a letter from the President’s lawyers to inform them they had been put ‘on notice’.
Mr Tгuмρ’s legal team has demanded a full retraction, immediate apology and an offer of compensation over the ‘fabricated depiction’ of the 47th President.
A legal letter, from Tгuмρ counsel Alejandro Brito, has demanded that ‘false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements’ made about Mr Tгuмρ be retracted immediately.
BBC chair Mr Shah said of Mr Tгuмρ: ‘He’s a litigious fellow. So we should be prepared for all outcomes.’
He said the broadcaster had received more than 500 complaints since an explosive memo detailing the edit was leaked, but denied an issue with ‘systemic bias’.
A BBC spokesman said it ‘will review the letter and respond directly in due course’.
Mr Davie, who announced his resignation on Sunday, said the BBC would be ‘thriving’ in future
The President has form in this area, having settled cases with ABC News and CBS News in the past. He is currently engaged in lawsuits against the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
The White House is also said to be mulling over whether to restrict BBC journalists from press packs.
The Associated Press agency has had its access to the President severely limited after it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico by his preferred name, the Gulf of America.
Labour has leapt to the BBC’s defence after Downing Street backed the corporation in the wake of Mr Davie and Ms Turness’ resignations.
Number 10 has, however, refused to comment on President Tгuмρ’s threat to sue – lest it upset the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and the US.
A spokesman said today it was ‘a matter for the BBC’, adding: ‘It’s clearly not for the Government to comment on any ongoing legal matters.’
The spokesman would not be drawn on whether the Government would help pay any damages were Tгuмρ to sue and win.
‘Our position is clear: The BBC is independent and it’s for the corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions and, more broadly, we have a close relationship with the US on shared priorities, including security,’ he said.
The spokesman confirmed the Prime Minister has not spoken to Mr Tгuмρ about his threatened legal action.
Local government minister Alison McGovern told Times Radio that the UK should avoid having a ‘national meltdown’ about the corporation.
‘I think we need to make sure that the BBC, one of our most trusted media organisations, invests in quality journalism and tells the stories that we all want to hear,’ she said. She declined to be drawn on whether Mr Tгuмρ should be able to sue.
The BBC has faced numerous accusations of editorial bias after the memo, written by independent adviser Michael Prescott, laid bare issues within its newsroom.
Originally written for the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board, Mr Prescott’s briefing paper claimed a group of pro–trans reporters were effectively stonewalling the reporting of gender critical views.
Mr Davie looked solemn as he arrived at New Broadcasting House
Yesterday, outgoing director of BBC News Deborah Turness defiantly insisted that her newsroom was not ‘institutionally biased’
Instead, the corporation was alleged to have published a ‘constant drip–feed of one–sided stories…celebrating the trans experience’, Mr Prescott said.
His memo also noted that several BBC Arabic service reporters were allegedly covering stories critical of Israel while not covering the abduction of hostages by Hamas on October 7.
Mr Prescott also claimed the BBC sent relatively few notifications to readers about stories covering asylum seekers.
It was in his brief that the editing issue around President Tгuмρ was raised. It appeared in Panorama documentary Tгuмρ: A Second Chance?, which aired a week before Americans went to the polls in 2024.
Mr Prescott had been due to give evidence to MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Wednesday but the session has been postponed.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he had spoken to Mr Tгuмρ about the scandal on Friday and claimed the edit amounted to ‘election interference’ by the BBC.
While the edit suggested the President was encouraging supporters to walk to the Capitol building in Washington DC to ‘fight like hell’, it later emerged he had told them ‘to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard’.
The row intensified as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, writing in his Mail+ column, threatened to withhold his licence fee if Mr Davie did not speak out. The column was shared by President Tгuмρ online.
Mr Farage told LBC yesterday that the BBC had ‘deeply offended the leader of the free world, an absolutely crucial ally, whether you like Tгuмρ or not’.
Tгuмρ himself labelled Mr Davie and Ms Turness ‘very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election’ in a post on TruthSocial.
There have been rumblings within the corporation that the row is part of a p0lit!cally motivated boardroom plot.
Dоnɑld Tгuмρ has claimed the scalps of Mr Davie and Ms Turness, writing on Truth Social: ‘These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election’
Deborah Turness, it is understood, had sought to have a statement admitting to the Tгuмρ editing error approved last week – but BBC board executives refused to sign it off.
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, and John Swinney, leader of the SNP, have called for the removal of Sir Robbie Gibb – a one–time BBC p0lit!cal editor and one–time spin doctor for Theresa May – from the broadcaster’s board.
They claim that he ‘led the charge’ in pressuring the corporation’s leadership. Even the BBC’s own reporters have suggested there are dark forces at work – though Nick Robinson, former p0lit!cal editor, said Sir Robbie had ‘supported’ Mr Davie.
Mr Robinson said on the Today programme that sources had told him of ‘alleged p0lit!cal interference’ after ‘a hostile takeover of parts of the BBC’.
‘I understand that at the time of transmission of the Panorama film in October 2024 there were no complaints received about the editing of Dоnɑld Tгuмρ’s speech,’ he glibly noted.
Tim Davie served as acting director–general for six months from November 2012 after George Entwistle resigned in the wake of the Jimmy Savile and Lord McAlpine scandals.
He returned to the job permanently in 2020 and survived several controversies including allowing punk rap duo Bob Vylan to lead chants of ‘death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)’ live on air at Glastonbury, and the Huw Edwards scandal.
His unwavering faith in the BBC comes after Ms Turness defiantly told reporters on Monday that journalists in the corporation were not ‘corrupt’.
She said outside New Broadcasting House: ‘Of course our journalists aren’t corrupt. Our journalists are hardworking people who strive for impartiality and I will stand by their journalism.
‘I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me. But I’d like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased.’
