Trump celebrates departure of BBC director general and CEO of News
Donald Trump headed to Truth Social on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the departure of BBC Director General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness. The shock resignations came days after the BBC documentary program Panorama was accused of doctoring Trump’s Jan. 6 speech to make it appear he had incited the Capitol riot.
“The TOP people at the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, have all quit/FIRED because they were caught ‘manipulating’ my very good (PERFECT!) January 6 speech,” Trump wrote. “Thanks to The Telegraph for exposing these corrupt ‘journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to weigh in on the scales of a presidential election. Moreover, they come from a foreign country, a country that many consider our most important ally. What a terrible thing for democracy!”
As Trump noted, The Telegraph put the network in hot water after publishing the details of a 19-page dossier on the BBC’s bias, prepared by a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s standards committee. The report claimed that Panorama stitched together images that showed Trump ‘saying’ things [he] never really said.” One of Panorama’s audio clips shows Trump declaring that he would march with his supporters to the Capitol and “fight like hell,” while actually telling them to “make their voices heard in a peaceful and patriotic manner.”
In an exit note to BBC staff, Davie wrote: “Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable. While not the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision. Overall the BBC is performing well, but some mistakes have been made and as Director General I must take ultimate responsibility.”
Turnness said in her own statement that she had “made the difficult decision that it will no longer be my role to lead you in the collective vision we all have: pursuing the truth without an agenda.”
