BBC face big crisis after top executives stepped down

(MENAFN) The resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and Director of News Deborah Turness dominated British headlines on Monday, with commentators calling the situation the broadcaster’s “biggest crisis in a decade.”

The departures follow controversy over a Panorama documentary accused of misleadingly editing a speech by US President Donald Trump to make it appear as though he encouraged supporters to attack the US Capitol.

The Daily Mail ran the headline, “BBC bosses quit in disgrace,” quoting Davie: “Mistakes have been made, and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”

The Daily Telegraph described the dual resignations as the broadcaster’s “biggest crisis in more than a decade,” highlighting Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s comment that it was appropriate for BBC executives to have “finally taken responsibility.”

Inside the corporation, staff described an atmosphere of “dismay” following Turness’s announcement, according to The Guardian. “Feels like a coup,” one source told the newspaper, which noted that the process to fill “two of the biggest roles in British media” has now begun.

The Times reported that Davie’s resignation was seen internally as “death by a thousand cuts,” with the outgoing director general also under increasing pressure over the BBC’s coverage of Gaza.

The Financial Times led with “Furore over Trump documentary,” reporting that the BBC plans to apologize to lawmakers on Monday over the Panorama episode.

The Sun highlighted Trump’s reaction on Truth Social: “The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th.”

Meanwhile, former BBC One controller Peter Fincham described the resignations as marking “a sad day for the BBC.”

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