Why did Deborah Turness resign? Trump's speech editing controversy explored as BBC's outgoing CEO says "mistakes are made"

BBC News head Deborah Turness has resigned after facing backlash over the broadcaster's editing of one of Donald Trump's speeches. BBC Director-General Tim Davie also followed suit.

Deborah Turness officially handed in her resignation as the BBC News CEO on Sunday, November 9, 2025. On Monday (November 10) morning, the outgoing CEO spoke to Sky News about her decision. She said:

"I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with our brilliant team of journalists. 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."

Turness added:

"Mistakes were made. Of course, our journalists aren't corrupt. Our journalists are hard-working people who strive for impartiality, and I will stand by their journalism."

Deborah Turness's resignation came after BBC News faced major backlash for its allegedly controversial editing of one of President Trump's speeches from January 2021. The President made the speech on January 6, 2021, after his loss in the 2020 elections to Democratic nominee Joe Biden. His supporters attacked the Capitol in Washington soon after in protest of the Republican leader losing the election.

Critics noted that the BBC edited Trump's speech in a misleading way for their documentary. They notably edited out a part where the President said that he would like demonstrators to protest peacefully. Turness believed that controversy about the documentary has reached a stage "where it is causing damage to the BBC", and she wants the "buck" to stop with her.

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BBC CEO Deborah Turness claims there's no "institutional bias" in the organization amid Trump's speech editing controversy

National Faith Advisory Summit In Georgia - Source: Getty

In her aforementioned interview with Sky News, outgoing BBC CEO Deborah Turness mentioned that there's no "institutional bias" in the organization. She said:

"There is no institutional bias. Mistakes are made, but there's no institutional bias."

The reporter then asked Turness why these "mistakes" related to Trump's speech, alongside anti-Semitism and women's rights, were not dealt with before. She responded:

"I'm sure that story will emerge. But for now, I'm going to go in and see our team."

Apart from Deborah Turness, Director-General Tim Davie also handed in his resignation over the Trump speech editing controversy. In a letter to the staff, Davie described it as "entirely his decision" after serving the broadcasting company for five years.

"Like all public organizations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable. While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision," Davie wrote.

He added:

"Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made, and as director-general, I have to take ultimate responsibility. I am working through exact timings with the Board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months."

The controversy arose after details of a leaked internal memo written by Michael Prescott came to light, which indicated that a BBC Panorama documentary edited comments by Trump in a way that it seemed he called for and encouraged direct action. This documentary, titled Trump: A Second Chance? was broadcast last year.

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Following the resignation of Deborah Turness and Tim Davie, the President acknowledged them on Truth Social and encouraged the same.

Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar