The BBC is preparing to issue a formal apology for doctoring a President Donald Trump speech in a documentary — a bombshell admission that has ignited calls for the network’s top executive to resign.
BBC Chairman Samir Shah will send a letter to Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Monday admitting that the documentary “misled viewers” by manipulating footage of Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, remarks — editing together separate parts of his speech to make it appear he urged supporters to storm the Capitol, London’s Telegraph reported Sunday.
The apology follows revelations from an 8,000-word internal dossier written by Michael Prescott, a former BBC standards adviser, who accused senior editors of covering up the deception.
Prescott’s memo — circulated among BBC management — warned the program’s producers had created a “very, very dangerous precedent” by splicing together unrelated clips of Trump’s speech. Despite his warnings, neither Shah nor Director-General Tim Davie acted on the memo for six months.
Now, under mounting political and public pressure, Shah is moving to formally acknowledge the program “materially misled viewers.”
The scandal has exploded into a full-blown leadership crisis for the BBC.
Davie, already facing criticism for the network’s handling of its coverage of the Gaza war and gender politics, is under growing pressure to step down.
Former BBC Television Director Danny Cohen said the leadership’s silence “makes it very hard for them to excuse away the scandal,” noting that both Shah and Davie “were in the room when the faked Trump video was raised as a serious problem.”
Vernon Bogdanor, a constitutional scholar and former Oxford professor, also called for Davie’s resignation “with immediate effect,” accusing the broadcaster of ignoring previous warnings about bias.
The Trump White House joined the criticism Friday, accusing the BBC of “purposeful dishonesty” and labeling it a “leftist propaganda machine.”
The charge underscores growing international concern over the state-funded outlet’s credibility — particularly in its reporting on Trump and other conservative figures.
Former U.K. Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said the editing amounted to “a very serious manipulation to present a picture that is not accurate.” He added that the “buck stops” with Davie, warning the network’s integrity is at stake.
In an internal email to staff Friday, Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, appeared to prepare employees for an apology.
“It’s always difficult when the BBC becomes a story — as it has, in some quarters, this week,” she wrote.
She added Shah’s letter to Parliament would provide “a full response,” adding she wanted to speak to staff before it became public.
“The BBC chairman will provide a full response to the culture, media and sport committee on Monday,” the BBC confirmed Saturday night.
The fallout marks another blow to the BBC’s reputation for impartiality — already under fire for what critics call systemic bias against conservatives, Christians, and Israel.
BBC presenter Nick Robinson posted on X that the network must “listen and learn,” but also “stand up to those who prefer propaganda and disinformation.”
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