Articles by Editor,Rory Tingle

Politics

BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for 'error of judgment' over Panorama doctoring of Trump speech

BBC chairman Samir Shah has said the corporation would like to 'apologise for that error of judgment' over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump for Panorama. The apology follows the resignation of two of the corporation's most senior figures on Sunday - chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness and director-general Tim Davie - who announced their departure from the BBC after concerns were raised in Michael Prescott's report. Mr Shah, who was responding to a letter from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS), said there have been more than 500 complaints since the publication of the memo, adding: 'We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.' On Monday, Ms Turness stressed the corporation is 'not institutionally biased' and its journalists are not 'corrupt' as she arrived at Broadcasting House in central London. She said: 'I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me. 'But I'd like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. That's why it's the world's most trusted news provider.' Asked if BBC journalists are institutionally corrupt, she replied: 'Of course our journalists aren't corrupt, our journalists are hard-working people who strive for impartiality, and I will stand by their journalism. 'There is no institutional bias. Mistakes are made, but there's no institutional bias.' The resignation of Mr Davie and Ms Turness on Sunday followed days of pressure on the broadcaster over the matter. A memo by Mr Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC's editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of Mr Trump's speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to 'fight like hell'. Critics said the documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last year's US election, was misleading and removed a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. Mr Trump welcomed the BBC resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to 'step on the scales of a presidential election', adding on social media: 'What a terrible thing for Democracy!' In a statement on Sunday, Mr Davie, who had been in the role for five years, said that the BBC was 'delivering well' overall, but added 'there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility'.