BBC Director General Tim Davie Resigns Over Trump Speech Editing Row; the US President Hits Outs at BBC for ‘Doctoring’ his January 6 Speech

Key Points:

Prominent public broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which has a history spanning a century, has once again come under fire for its editorial standards. On November 10, 2025, the head and Director-General of the BBC, Tim Davie, announced his resignation following the Trump speech editing row. His resignation marks the end of his 20-year career with the BBC.

Davie’s departure from the broadcasting service comes amid controversy over the editing of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2021 Capitol speech for a documentary. According to reports, Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, Chief Executive of News, are expected to apologize for allegedly misleading the audience by editing Trump’s speech.

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The duo has stepped down from their respective positions following the backlash. However, this is not the first time the broadcasting service has faced criticism over its editorial and journalistic standards.

The editing row stemmed from one of the BBC’s documentary series, which allegedly misled viewers. The documentary, titled Trump: A Second Chance?, reportedly included edits that made it appear as though Trump was telling his supporters that he would join them at the U.S. Capitol to “fight like hell.” The documentary series was released just before the 2024 U.S. election.

The issue came to light after The Telegraph unearthed a BBC memo and published leaked details. The memo indicated that after editing, the visuals appeared to show President Trump encouraging the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack. The attack, carried out by a mob of Trump supporters, interrupted a joint session of Congress convened to certify the 2020 presidential election results, in which Trump was defeated by Joe Biden.

Trump reacted to the news of Davie and Turness’s resignations on his Truth Social account. He wrote, “These are some very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election.” Trump also took a dig at the broadcasting service, pointing out that it is from a “foreign country” considered an ally. “What a terrible thing for democracy,” wrote Trump.

Despite all the accusations, Tim Davie issued a statement saying that his resignation was purely a personal decision. Davie stated, “This is entirely my decision, and I remain very thankful to the Chair and Board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, including during recent days.”

Addressing the controversy, he added, “There have been some mistakes made, and as Director-General, I have to take ultimate responsibility.” Davie will continue to serve as Director-General for the time being until a suitable successor is appointed by the board members of BBC and chairman Samir Shah.

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