Why have Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resigned from the BBC?
BBC director general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness have resigned as the broadcaster seeks to close the door on a scandal-plagued period in its recent history.
It’s been a turbulent week for the BBC, as it has been accused of institutional bias as criticism poured in over an edited clip of Donald Trump’s speech in the Panorama documentary.
But this was only the latest in a series of controversies and scandals that have hit the broadcaster in recent years, with accusations of institutional bias leveled at it from both sides of the political spectrum.
Follow The Independent’s live coverage of Tim Davie’s resignation Here.
In his resignation statement, Mr Davie acknowledged that “some mistakes were made” during his time in office and stressed that the decision to leave was “entirely my decision”.
He also paid tribute to the organisation, which he said was “uniquely valuable and speaks to the best of us”, but acknowledged that the broadcaster “is not perfect and must always be open, transparent and accountable”.
Ms Turness also acknowledged mistakes had been made but said it was “absolutely clear”. [that] Recent claims that BBC News is institutionally biased are false.”
Independent It looks at the full story of Mr Davie and Ms Turness’s time at the BBC and where it all went wrong.
Who are Tim Davie and Deborah Turness?
Tim Davie, 58, was appointed BBC director general in September 2020.
Mr Davie, a former Conservative Party candidate in council elections in the 1990s, first joined the BBC in April 2005 as marketing manager.
He became Director of Sound and Music in 2008 and sat on the BBC’s Executive Board before taking over as acting director general in November 2012. He held this position until April 2013, when Tony Hall was appointed.
He served as managing director of BBC Studios before becoming permanent director.
Deborah Turness had been chief executive of BBC News since 2022, where she oversaw the broadcaster’s news and current affairs output.
He was responsible for a team of approximately 6,000 people and broadcast in more than 40 languages to almost half a billion people worldwide.
Ms. Turness previously served as president of NBC News and CEO of ITN.
Why did they resign?
Recent months and years have seen the BBC become embroiled in repeated controversies over a range of different issues.
One of the major criticisms leveled at the BBC from across the political spectrum was its impartiality.
This came to a head last week amid controversy over the BBC panorama episode, in which the BBC was accused of being biased against Donald Trump. Trump: Second Chance?
A clip from the show, which aired a week before last year’s US election, spliced together clips from parts of the US president’s speech on January 6, 2021, making it appear he told his supporters he would march with them to the US Capitol to “fight like hell”.
In his original speech, Trump said: “We will march to the Capitol and support our brave senators, congressmen and women.”
But the edit superimposed the first part of the speech with another part from 50 minutes later, showing him saying: “We’re going to march towards the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we’re fighting. We’re fighting like hell.”
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who has faced harsh criticism from the White House, told The Telegraph: “The deliberately fraudulent, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that this is total, 100 per cent fake news that is no longer worth the time of the UK’s great people on their television screens.”
In his resignation statement, Mr Davie said it was not the sole reason but that “the current debate around BBC News understandably contributed to my decision”.
He added: “The BBC, like all public organisations, is not perfect and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.”
Ms Turness said in a statement: “The ongoing debate around Panorama regarding President Trump has reached a stage where it is damaging to the BBC, an institution I love.
“As CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the responsibility falls on me and last night I decided to offer my resignation to the director general.”
What was the reaction?
Mr Davie’s resignation was greeted enthusiastically by some parts of the political spectrum but less so by others.
Right-wing figures on both sides of the Atlantic also reacted.
“The TOP people at the BBC, including TIM DAVIE and THE BOSS, are all resigning/fired because they were caught ‘editing’ my very good (EXCELLENT!) speech on January 6th,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday evening.
“Thank you Telegram For exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists’. “These are very dishonorable people who are trying to weigh in on the scales of the Presidential election,” he said.
Kemi Badenoch said Tim Davie and Deborah Turness “eventually took responsibility” but that the “catalog of serious failings” at the BBC “went much deeper”.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage said the resignations of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness should be the “start of wholesale change”.
In response, culture minister Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for his “many years of service to public broadcasting” and acknowledged that he had led the BBC “through a period of significant change and helped the organization overcome the challenges it has faced in recent years”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on the BBC to “turn over a new leaf, rebuild trust and not bow to the likes of Nigel Farage who want to destroy it”.
How will Davie’s replacement be chosen?
The chief executive will be appointed by the BBC Board and will be chaired by chairman Samir Shah, who is one of 10 non-executive members and four executive members, including the chief executive.
Four of the non-executive members are appointed as members in each of the UK countries.
The process will be managed by the BBC Board’s nomination committee and will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the BBC Charter drawn up by the government.
Mr Davie’s successor will be the BBC’s 18th director general in its 103 years of existence.
