Published On 9/11/2025
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Last update: 23:38 (Mecca time)
Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Tim Duffy, and Chief News Officer, Deborah Terness, resigned following accusations that the BBC was biased in covering some files, including the Israeli war of annihilation in Gaza, and the way scenes from a speech by US President Donald Trump in 2021 were edited.
Duffy said in a statement on Sunday that the decision to resign after 5 years in the position is entirely up to him. “I remain very grateful to the Chairman and the Board for their unwavering and unified support throughout my tenure, including during the final days,” he added.
He added, “In general, the BBC is performing well, but there are some mistakes that have occurred, and as Director-General I must bear full responsibility.”
For her part, Terness said that the controversy over Trump’s speech “has reached a point where it is causing harm to the BBC, an institution I love. As CEO of current affairs news, the ultimate responsibility lies with me.”
Pressure and accusations
The resignation of both officials came after the British newspaper, The Telegraph, published over a period of days a series of reports criticizing the BBC, based on an internal document prepared by an advisor to the authority regarding editorial standards.
The Telegraph accused the BBC of spreading what it called “Hamas lies,” and said that “the rot has spread far beyond its notorious Arab service.”
The internal document included a “list of errors,” including the way in which clips of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, at the end of his first term, were edited, and it appeared in a documentary within the famous “Panorama” program produced by the BBC.
The document stated that the “Panorama” program edited two clips from Trump’s speech, so that he appeared to encourage the riots that took place in the Capitol (the headquarters of the US Congress) at that time.
In the documentary, Trump appeared telling his supporters, “We will go to the Capitol,” and stressed that they “will fight with all our might,” a phrase he said in another part of the speech. Critics pointed out that the editing of the speech was misleading, as another part in which Trump said he wanted his supporters to demonstrate peacefully was deleted.