Keir Starmer breaks his silence in BBC bias row and ‘doctored’ Trump speech | Politics | News

Keir Starmer backed the BBC and insisted it was not “corrupt” or “institutionally biased” despite two senior executives resigning in quick succession over the reporting. BBC chief Samir Shah said the company “wishes to apologize for this error of judgement” as a speech was edited by an editor. Donald Trump He said he accepted on behalf of Panorama – and that the speech had been altered to give the misleading impression that Mr Trump was calling for violence.

But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “On the question of whether the BBC is corrupt? No. The BBC has a vital role to play in the age of disinformation… There is a clear argument here for a robust, impartial British news service, and that case is stronger than ever. I think I have already addressed some of the comments made in the last 24 hours, but we are of the view that it is important for the BBC to act quickly to maintain trust and correct errors quickly.” they occur.”

The spokesman was also asked whether Sir Keir Starmer believed the BBC was institutionally biased, to which he replied: “No, but it is important that the BBC takes action to maintain trust and correct errors quickly when they occur, because as I have said, for any public service broadcaster, accountability is vital to maintaining trust.”

The spokesman did not say whether the future of the BBC’s license fee was on the table as part of a wider review of its broadcaster agreement due to start this year.

Mr Shah’s apology follows the resignation on Sunday of two of the company’s most senior figures – BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness and director general Tim Davie – who announced they were leaving the BBC after concerns were raised in Michael Prescott’s report.

Mr Prescott, who was an independent adviser to the BBC’s Broadcasting Guidelines and Standards Board until June this year, highlighted a Panorama broadcast that stitched together two separate parts of Donald Trump’s speech to suggest that the US President encouraged a riot in Washington in January 2021.

Speaking in Washington, Mr Trump said: “We will march to the Capitol and I will be with you. I know everyone here will march to the Capitol soon to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

But the BBC stitched together different parts of the speech to show Mr Trump saying: “We’re going to march on the Capitol, and I’ll be with you, and we’re going to fight. We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you ain’t got a country no more.” It was not revealed to viewers that these images contained separate parts of the conversation.

Mr Prescott also criticized the BBC’s coverage of the conflict in Gaza, saying the broadcaster accepted claims by people who supported Hamas’ terror attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,195 people. He said: “Allegations against Israel appear to be quickly published on air or online without adequate checks, proving either carelessness or a desire to always believe the worst about Israel. Errors come thick and fast, sometimes through ‘eyewitness accounts’ of local residents who Tweeted praises of the October 7 murders and worse.”

And Mr Prescott said some BBC journalists were engaging in “effective censorship” by refusing to cover stories that raise “difficult questions” about transgender issues.

Responding to a letter from the Committee for Culture, Media and Sport (CMS), Mr Shah said more than 500 complaints had been received since the note was published. Referring to Donald Trump’s speech, he said: “We recognize that the way the speech was edited gave the impression of a direct call for violence.”