BBC boss and head of news quit after criticism of Trump documentary edit

By Andrew MacAskill, Kate Holton and Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) -The BBC's boss and its head of news quit on Sunday following accusations of bias at the British broadcaster, including in the way it edited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The BBC had been under mounting pressure after an internal report by a former standards adviser was leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper which cited failings in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, transgender issues and a speech made by Trump.

Trump welcomed the departures, criticising the two as "very dishonest people" after the BBC's flagship Panorama programme edited two parts of one of his speeches together so he appeared to be encouraging the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021. 

Tim Davie, who has led the British Broadcasting Corporation since 2020, said he was standing down after "reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times".

Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, also resigned.

RESPECTED OVERSEAS, QUESTIONED OVER NEWS JUDGEMENT

Widely respected around the world, the BBC has in recent years been accused of failing to maintain its commitment to impartial news, struggling to navigate the fractious political and cultural environment.

The leaked internal report said BBC Arabic had shown anti-Israel bias in its reporting of the war in Gaza and that an effort to cover a group campaigning for single-sex spaces had been suppressed by a small group of staff who saw it as hostile to the transgender community.

The corporation, which is funded by a licence fee paid by all television-watching households, comes under intense scrutiny from some national newspapers and critics on social media, which object to its funding model and perceived liberal stance.

In recent years it had struggled to contain multiple scandals. In one, Gary Lineker, at the time its most highly paid sports presenter, was suspended for criticising the government's immigration policy. That briefly led to many sports staff walking off the job in opposition.

It was condemned for showing punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting against the Israeli military at Glastonbury, and it pulled a documentary about Gaza earlier this year because it featured the son of a deputy minister in the Hamas-run government.

In the Panorama documentary broadcast last year, Trump was shown telling his supporters that "we're going to walk down to the Capitol" and that they would "fight like hell", a comment he made in a different part of his speech.

He had actually said his supporters would "cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women".

Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, accused the two executives of having tried to influence a U.S. presidential election.

"On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!" he said.

DAVIE DEFENDS BBC, NEWS BOSS DENIES BIAS CLAIMS

British culture minister Lisa Nandy thanked Davie for his work as director general, saying he had led the broadcaster through a period of significant change.

A person familiar with the situation said Davie's decision had left the BBC board stunned and he would stay on for the next few months while a replacement was found. 

Davie defended the corporation, saying it should be championed not weaponised due to its role in helping to build a healthy society and thriving creative sector.

But he said it was not perfect and, while the recent criticism was not the only reason for his departure, it had been a factor and he had to take ultimate responsibility.

The BBC, which has to negotiate a new charter with the government in 2027 to guarantee its finances, had appeared to struggle to respond to the recent run of negative headlines.

The chairman, Samir Shah, had been expected to apologise to lawmakers for the furore on Monday.

Turness said in an email to staff that while mistakes had been made, "I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong."

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton and Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Bill Berkrot and Edmund Klamann)