The chairman of the BBC admitted on Monday that the response to allegations of bias in an edited speech by U.S. President Donald Trump was too slow. However, he refuted claims that the broadcaster’s impartiality was compromised within its own board. Senior BBC officials faced questioning from the U.K. Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee amidst a significant crisis following the resignations of the director general and head of news, with Trump threatening legal action.
The BBC came under fire after an internal memo, authored by a former external adviser, was leaked to the British media, criticizing instances of perceived biased reporting in a documentary about Trump aired before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Chairman Samir Shah acknowledged that the broadcaster should have promptly addressed the allegations.
The documentary, titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” was produced by a third-party company and included an edited sequence of quotes from a speech by Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, creating the impression that he incited his supporters to “fight like hell.” Shah recognized that the editing gave the impression of a direct call for violent action.
During a parliamentary session, concerns were raised about editorial standards by Michael Prescott, a former journalist and external editorial standards adviser to the BBC. Prescott highlighted issues with the editing of the Trump speech and other instances of perceived bias at the BBC. The note he penned triggered a crisis when it was published by The Daily Telegraph.
The BBC faced scrutiny from Britain’s media regulator for a misleading documentary on children in Gaza and was criticized for failing to disclose connections to the Hamas administration. Legal experts suggested that Trump’s threat of a lawsuit against the BBC may face challenges as the broadcaster could argue that he was not harmed, having been elected president in 2024.
The BBC, as a public institution funded by an annual license fee, is obligated to maintain impartiality according to its charter. The broadcaster’s leadership changes and internal strife have raised questions about its governance and editorial practices, with accusations of bias and political interference. However, board members have denied claims of institutional bias and political meddling within the BBC.