BBC's outgoing boss rallies staff in face of leadership crisis and Trump legal threat

The outgoing boss of Britain's BBC sought to rally his journalists on Tuesday, saying that although they had made mistakes they needed to fight for their work as the broadcaster confronts legal action by US president Donald Trump.

The British Broadcasting Corporation has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades after its two most senior staff, director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness, quit following criticism over standards and accusations of bias at the BBC, including over how it edited a speech by Mr Trump.

Mr Trump's lawyers have said the BBC must retract the documentary in which the edited speech was aired by Friday, or face a lawsuit for "no less" than $1 billion (€865 million)

Mr Davie told staff that he was fiercely proud of the publicly funded organisation, while acknowledging that "we have made some mistakes that have cost us".

"We are a unique and precious organisation, and I see the free press under pressure, I see the weaponisation," he said at an all-staff meeting, without elaborating.

Questions over public trust

Some politicians and sections of the British press have directed allegations of bias at the BBC - including claims that it favours the governing Labour Party - and have used the criticism to challenge its licence fee funding model.

Supporters of the broadcaster argue that such attacks are part of a broader campaign against public service media.

Speaking in the UK parliament, British culture minister Lisa Nandy defended the BBC as a beacon of high journalistic standards despite the challenges: "At a time that lines are being dangerously blurred between fact and opinion... (the BBC) is a light on the hill".

A snap YouGov poll conducted on Monday, a day after Mr Davie's resignation, showed one-third of the British public believes the BBC has a left-wing bias.

Analysts say the resignations have exposed deep frictions over governance and editorial standards at the broadcaster, raising questions about whether it can maintain public trust.

An internal memo by a former BBC adviser accused it of editorial failings on Mr Trump, the Israel-Hamas war and transgender coverage.

Attempt to calm concerns over BBC's future

But Mr Davie, who became director general in 2020, tried to calm worries over the broadcaster's future.

"The BBC is going to be thriving, and I support everyone on the team," he said ahead of the all-staff meeting.

Mr Davie said he had decided to step down because of the job's relentlessness, the need to give his successor time to prepare for the next review of the BBC's funding model, and an editorial breach that required accountability, according to a transcript of his comments at the staff meeting.

The BBC, founded in 1922 and funded largely by a licence fee paid by all TV-owning households, is now without a permanent leader as it faces a UK government review of the terms of its charter and funding model.

The current 10-year charter expires in 2027. Ms Nandy said on Tuesday the review, which will set the terms of the BBC for the next decade, would begin imminently.

BBC apologises for edit of Trump speech

Critics have said the edit of a speech made by Mr Trump in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol was part of a wider pattern of failure to uphold impartiality at the BBC.

BBC chair Samir Shah apologised for the "error of judgment" in the edit, which was included in a Panorama documentary aired shortly before the November 2024 US presidential election.

The programme - produced by a third party - spliced together remarks delivered nearly an hour apart, omitting Mr Trump's call for peaceful protest and creating the impression he urged violence.

Mr Shah also rejected claims of systemic bias, saying surveys showed Britons trusted BBC News more than any other outlet.

When asked for a response to Mr Trump's threat to sue the BBC on Tuesday, a spokesperson for UK prime minister Keir Starmer told reporters: "It is clearly not for the government to comment on any ongoing legal matters."

"Our position is clear that the BBC is independent and it is for the corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions," they added.

The spokesperson also noted Mr Starmer's "very strong relationship" with Mr Trump.