Why has Tim Davie resigned and what was the Trump documentary edit?

BBC director general Tim Davie and his head of news, Deborah Turness, have resigned.

The BBC had come under fire over a Panorama documentary that was accused of misleadingly editing a speech by Donald Trump to make it look like he was urging people to attack the US Capitol.

In emails to staff, both Davie and Turness said mistakes had been made.

Tim Davie was appointed director general of the BBC in September 2020. He was in charge of overseeing the corporation's services and was its editorial, operational and creative leader.

He was not a new figure to the BBC; prior to becoming director general, he had been chief executive of BBC Studios for seven years.

Before joining the BBC, Davie worked for organisations such as Procter and Gamble, and PepsiCo.

Deborah Turness had been the CEO of BBC News since 2022, overseeing BBC News and current affairs programmes

In her role, she had responsibility for a team of around 6,000 people, broadcasting to almost half a billion people across the world in more than 40 languages.

She was previously CEO of ITN and was president of NBC News from 2013.

Their departures come after controversy over a Panorama documentary called Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast last year.

In her statement, Turness said: "The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC – an institution that I love.

"As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me - and I took the decision to offer my resignation to the director general last night."

She added: "While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong."

Davie did not mention the Panorama documentary in his statement, although said: "While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.

"Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility."

Last week, the Daily Telegraph published an exclusive report, saying it had seen a leaked internal BBC memo.

The memo came from Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the broadcaster's editorial standards committee. He left the role in June.

The memo suggested that the one-hour Panorama documentary had edited parts of Trump's speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.

In his speech in Washington DC on 6 January 2021, 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, in the Panorama edit he was shown saying: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

The two sections of the speech that were edited together were more than 50 minutes apart.

The "fight like hell" comment was taken from a section where Trump discussed how "corrupt" US elections were. In total, he used the words "fight" or "fighting" 20 times in the speech.

According to the Telegraph, the document said Panorama's "distortion of the day's events" would leave viewers asking: "Why should the BBC be trusted, and where will this all end?"

When the issue was raised with managers, the memo continued, they "refused to accept there had been a breach of standards".

The BBC has come under scrutiny over a number of other different issues in recent weeks.

The Telegraph also reported that Mr Prescott raised concerns about a lack of action to address "systemic problems" of anti-Israel bias in the coverage of the Gaza war by the BBC Arabic news service.

The report also said Mr Prescott had raised concerns about the BBC's coverage around trans issues.

And on Thursday, the BBC upheld 20 impartiality complaints over the way presenter Martine Croxall earlier this year altered a script she was reading live on the BBC News Channel, which referred to "pregnant people".

Tim Davie has weathered many scandals and crises during his five years at the helm of the BBC - including the Gary Lineker furore, Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, the Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary, and the transgressions of a string of high-profile presenters.

Davie was nicknamed "Teflon Tim" by some in the media because nothing seemed to stick.

He had tried to ride out the latest controversy, too, but it has gathered steam and the BBC was expected to issue an apology tomorrow over the Panorama documentary.

This comes at a sensitive time for the BBC, with the government set to review the corporation's Royal Charter - which essentially gives it the right to exist - before the current term expires in 2027.

In his statement, Davie said: "You will ask why now, why this moment?"

He said he was "BBC through and through", and cares deeply about the corporation and wants it to succeed.

"That is why I want to create the best conditions and space for a new DG to come in and positively shape the next Royal Charter. I hope that as we move forward, a sensible, calm and rational public conversation can take place about the next chapter of the BBC."

He added: "This timing allows a new DG to help shape the next Charter. I believe we are in a strong position to deliver growth."

The director general is appointed by the BBC Board, which is responsible for ensuring it delivers the corporation's mission and public purposes.

The BBC Board is led by chair Samir Shah and he is one of 10 non-executive members, plus four executive members, including the director general.

When Tim Davie was appointed in 2020, the process for choosing who would get the role was led by the BBC Board's nominations committee.

The director general's appointment is made under the terms of the BBC's Charter.