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The BBC’s boss and its head of news quit on Sunday following criticism over 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, trans issues and a speech made by Trump.
The White House had recently denounced the broadcaster as a “propaganda machine” after its flagship Panorama programme was found to have edited two parts of Trump’s speech together so he appeared to encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.
Tim Davie, who has led the British Broadcasting Corporation since 2020, said he decided to leave after “reflecting on the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times”.
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 deeply polarised political and social environment.
The leaked internal report said BBC Arabic had shown anti-Israel bias in its reporting of the war in Gaza and that stories that raised difficult questions around trans issues had been suppressed by a small group of staff.
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 also struggled to contain scandals over the opinion on immigration of its most highly paid sports presenter, Gary Lineker, which briefly led to a walk-out by staff, and it was condemned for showing punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting against the Israeli military at Glastonbury.
It also pulled a documentary about Gaza earlier this year because it featured the son of a deputy minister in the Hamas-run government.
