4 h. ago Donald Trump says he has ‘obligation’ to sue BBC over speech edit

US president sets Friday deadline for corporation to respond to billion-dollar legal threatTrump to sue BBC – latest updatesDonald Trump has said he feels he has “an obligation” to sue the BBC over its editing of one of his speeches, as a deadline looms for the corporation to respond to his billion-dollar legal threat.The US president accused the broadcaster of having “defrauded the public” with an edition of Panorama last year that spliced together two parts of a speech he made on 6 January 2021 and has given it until Friday to respond. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Households set to receive £174 BBC TV licence refund after boss resigns

UK households are set to receive refunds of up to £174 from TV Licensing following the unexpected resignation of director general Tim Davie and BBC News head Deborah Turness.

Economics

6 h. ago Donald Trump says he has ‘obligation’ to sue BBC over speech edit – latest updates

US president claims broadcaster has ‘defrauded the public’ and reiterates his threat of launching a $1bn legal actionDonald Trump has grabbed the headlines after threatening to sue the BBC for $1bn (£760m) for what the corporation has accepted was a misleading edit of his speech on 6 January 2021 during the Capitol Hill insurrection.I wouldn’t want a board that’s guilty of groupthink, but the opposite of groupthink is different points of view. That makes the job of the chair challenging to try and organise and get consensus, but it’s important that people have a diversity of opinion on the board. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Trump doubles down on billion dollar BBC threat and claims it 'defrauds public'

US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat of legal action against the BBC over the editing of a speech just days after Tim Davie resigned over the chaotic situation

Politics

22 h. ago I’ve seen the BBC flat out on the canvas before. Brave journalism is the best way to hit back | Roger Mosey

The corporation is again being put to the test. Now is its chance to double down on reporting that serves the people of the UKRoger Mosey is a former head of BBC TV NewsThe BBC is battered and sprawling on the canvas again. As a corporation executive, I lived through a number of these episodes: the Hutton report into coverage of Iraq, which resulted in the resignation of Greg Dyke as director general; and then the Jimmy Savile revelations, which helped force out George Entwistle, even though he had nothing to do with the appalling crimes of history. Now Tim Davie has resigned over the misleading editing of a Panorama programme, and the BBC’s enemies haven’t just scented blood: they have got it.There is only one response, and that is to get up and fight. As digital nonsense and lies swamp us every day, and tech billionaires in foreign countries decide what we see and hear, there is a stronger case than ever for British content and for journalism that serves the people of the UK – wit...

Events

26 h. ago Tim Davie tells BBC staff to 'stand up for our journalism' but admits 'mistake' was made over Panorama clip of Donald Trump

Mr Davie spoke to journalists outside New Broadcasting House in London this morning - in his first public appearance since announcing his resignation on Sunday.

Politics

27 h. ago Nigel Farage accuses BBC Wales of bias and takes aim at organization director

In the wake of the resignation of director general Tim Davie, Nigel Farage has taken aim at Rhuanedd Richards

Politics

30 h. ago Sanctimonious GB News is in no place to lecture BBC on fairness

Editorial: It was a calamitous error of judgement for ‘Panorama’ to edit Donald Trump’s notorious January 6 speech – but, in a more rational world, the corporation’s top brass would not have to pay such a heavy price. The BBC is unique in the world and still worth defending

Politics

38 h. ago Will 'deluded and loathed' BBC deputy who is 'staunch defender of doctored Donald Trump footage' be next Beeb boss to be swept away?

Despite the impartiality scandal which has rocked the corporation and led to the resignations of Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness, her deputy Jonathan Munro remains in post.

Politics

43 h. ago Tim Davie and Deborah Turness were right to resign – to give the BBC a fighting chance

Editorial: It was a calamitous error of judgement for ‘Panorama’ to edit Donald Trump’s notorious January 6 speech – but, in a more rational world, the corporation’s top brass would not have to pay such a heavy price. The BBC is unique in the world and still worth defending

Politics

43 h. ago BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders

Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’‘Make no mistake – this was a coup’: the extraordinary downfall of the BBC’s top bossesA BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told.Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago The Guardian view on the BBC under siege: Britain must defend its own truth | Editorial

With Donald Trump circling and Labour ministers wavering, defending the corporation’s independence is now a test of national willThe chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, struck a defensive tone in his interview to explain the mess the broadcaster has found itself in. The impression was of an organisation under siege rather than one confidently self-correcting. Mr Shah will be busy. He must find a new director general after Tim Davie resigned. Gone too is the CEO of news, Deborah Turness. Both resigned after an exhausting rightwing campaign which cried bias at every turn and was energised by an absurd transatlantic attempt to paint the BBC as part of a global liberal conspiracy.A giant like the BBC will make mistakes. The failure is not owning them fast enough and moving on. The corporation remains one of Britain’s few genuinely national institutions – and ministers say it is a “light on the hill” for people here and abroad. The BBC is the most trusted source of news in ...

Politics

46 h. ago Donald Trump threatens legal action against BBC over Panorama documentary speech edit

The US President addressed the controversy on social media over the weekend

Politics

46 h. ago Donald Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1 billion as doctored speech row engulfs corporation

‘He’s a litigious fellow so we should be prepared for all outcomes,’ says BBC chairman Samir Shah

Politics

46 h. ago BBC were unwilling to listen to internal warnings about bias, says ex

Donald Trump has threatened a one billion dollar lawsuit over the BBC’s edit of a speech he made.

Events

46 h. ago Donald Trump threatens BBC with $1bn lawsuit as chair says speech edit was ‘error of judgment’ – latest updates

BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for way in which speech from US president was edited after corporation’s two most senior executives resignWe have heard from Culture, Media and Sport committee chair Caroline Dinenage, who has suggested that the outgoing BBC director Tim Davie ignored an internal dossier into bias at the BBC (see post at 09.06 for more detail on the dossier).She said Davie “ignored” concerns raised in Michael Prescott’s report over the way the speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama.I’m very sad about Tim Davie stepping down. I think he was an effective leader at the BBC.I think he was a great champion for public service media, but there is no escaping the fact that he was very slow to act on this particular issue. But this isn’t the first time and on this particular issue, Michael Prescott’s report, he just didn’t take it seriously until it was too late.I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with ...

Politics

46 h. ago John Torode breaks silence on MasterChef axe as BBC boss Tim Davie forced out

The Australian chef had some choice words as his former employers were plunged into turmoil

Politics

47 h. ago If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee

Replacing the TV licence with a means-tested alternative may help disarm the right of one of its most effective weaponsGotcha! The BBC’s enemies have taken two scalps and inflicted maximum damage. The shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, make it look as if the BBC accepts that it does indeed suffer from “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights. But in this political coup, only the BBC’s sworn ideological foes think a cherrypicked sample of journalistic errors amounts to “systemic” bias.It was indeed a bad mistake to splice together two bits of Trump’s speech; but it needed a quick apology, not a decapitation. The BBC’s chair, Samir Shah, I’m told, tried to persuade Davie to stay to avoid this apparent capitulation to critics: Davie should indeed have stood his ground, not weakened the BBC by walking away.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Voices: ‘The BBC must get back to basics’: Readers debate the broadcaster’s future after Trump Panorama controversy

Tim Davie’s dramatic resignation over the Panorama controversy has sparked intense debate among our community about whether the BBC can use this crisis to rebuild trust and integrity – or if it marks the start of a deeper decline

Politics

47 h. ago Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1bn over January 6 speech edit

Broadcaster’s chair admits ‘error of judgement’ over clip but hits out at memo that prompted bosses’ resignations

Politics