Explained: The Trump–BBC Panorama controversy that triggered top-level resignations

The BBC has been thrust into crisis after two of its most senior executives — Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness — resigned amid a growing controversy surrounding a Panorama documentary about US President Donald Trump.

The dispute centres on claims of misleading editing in the film Trump: A Second Chance?, which critics say manipulated Trump’s January 2021 speech to imply he incited the Capitol riots. The furore has since raised questions over the broadcaster’s editorial integrity and accountability.

What Sparked the Row

The controversy erupted following a report by The Telegraph, which published excerpts from a leaked internal BBC memo written by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the broadcaster’s editorial standards committee.

Prescott’s memo alleged that Panorama — one of the BBC’s longest-running investigative programmes — spliced together two separate parts of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech, aired more than 50 minutes apart, to give the false impression that the then-President directly encouraged violence at the Capitol.

In his original speech, 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, Panorama’s edited version reportedly cut this together with another section where he said:

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol... and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The result, Prescott’s memo stated, “misrepresented the context and intent” of Trump’s remarks, effectively altering the meaning for viewers.

BBC’s Response

Following the revelation, Tim Davie acknowledged “serious editorial lapses” and said he accepted full responsibility for what had transpired. Both he and Deborah Turness tendered their resignations on Sunday, describing their decision as “a matter of accountability”.

Davie, who took over as Director-General in 2020, had been credited with navigating the BBC through political and financial turbulence. Turness, who joined as CEO of BBC News in 2022, was overseeing a major newsroom restructuring at the time of her exit.

The documentary in question was produced by October Films Ltd. and broadcast last year as part of Panorama’s election-focused coverage.

Trump’s Reaction

President Trump reacted swiftly to the developments, taking to his Truth Social platform to celebrate the resignations.

“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,” Trump wrote. “Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these corrupt journalists. What a terrible thing for democracy!”

The President accused the BBC of attempting to manipulate public perception in the run-up to the US election, calling the incident “foreign interference from an ally nation”.

The 6 January 2021 Capitol riots were among the most turbulent moments in modern American history. Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., as Congress prepared to certify Joe Biden’s election victory. The violence left multiple people dead and led to widespread condemnation of Trump’s rhetoric at the time.