Outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie urges staff to fight for journalism as Donald Trump threatens a $1 billion lawsuit over a documentary edit.
LONDON: The BBC’s outgoing director-general Tim Davie urged staff to fight for their journalism amid a threat from Donald Trump to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion.
Davie’s rallying cry came after Trump’s lawyers demanded compensation by Friday for a misleading edit in a documentary about the US Capitol assault.
The controversy has exposed tensions within the BBC over coverage of issues including the Gaza war and put the British government in a difficult position with its closest ally.
“I see the free press under pressure, I see the weaponisation. I think we’ve got to fight for our journalism,” Davie told staff after he and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned over the furore.
The BBC apologised on Monday for giving the impression that Trump had directly urged “violent action” before the 2021 Capitol attack in a documentary aired last October.
Trump’s lawyers threatened legal action in Florida if the broadcaster fails to provide appropriate compensation for harm caused.
Davie admitted the broadcaster had made “some mistakes that have cost us” during what he called difficult times.
The publicly funded BBC faces growing accusations of bias from different ideological camps.
The crisis intensified after the Daily Telegraph leaked a memo by former BBC adviser Michael Prescott raising concerns about anti-Israel bias in the Arabic service and Gaza coverage.
BBC chair Samir Shah apologised for the Trump edit and vowed to reform oversight within the organisation.
Some current and former BBC journalists have blamed right-wing board members for alleging institutional bias, which Turness denied.
Former BBC editor Mark Urban suggested “culture wars” and liberal voices were also at fault for the lapses.
The row comes as the BBC prepares to renegotiate its Royal Charter, which outlines governance and expires in 2027.
Davie said the broadcaster was in a “really good position to get a good charter” despite controversies prompting calls to change its licence-fee funding model.
Culture minister Lisa Nandy confirmed the charter review would start before year-end, warning against “a sustained attack” on the country’s “most widely used and trusted source of news”.
The Labour government faces a balancing act between supporting BBC independence and not appearing to side against Trump.
Media lawyer Matthew Gill told AFP the documentary would probably have had a “very small audience” in the US, making it harder to prove harm to Trump. – AFP
