The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned on Sunday night after receiving criticism over editing a speech by Donald Trump. According to The Guardian, this move followed a report published in The Telegraph suggesting that the British public service broadcaster had misleadingly edited an episode of its flagship documentary programme, Panorama.After the BBC faced accusations of failing in its duty of impartiality, English broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan shared his reaction to the corporation reportedly misleading its viewers by editing Donald Trump’s speech.On Sunday, November 9, 2025, the media personality took to his X, Twitter account and called out Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, writing:“This smacks of commanding officers taking the rap for something done by lower ranks. Who actually doctored the Trump speech, and how on earth did Panorama let it then be broadcast?”Over the course of last week, The Telegraph reported on a leaked internal BBC memo. According to The Guardian, the row began after details of a “dossier” were compiled by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee.The main criticism that drew attention was the editing of two parts of Trump’s speech together, in which he appeared to encourage the Capitol Hill riot of January 2021. While in his speech on 6 January 2021, the 79-year-old US Politician said:“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”The Panorama edit reportedly showed Donald Trump saying:“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”Prescott also reportedly highlighted the British broadcaster, avoiding difficult stories about transgender rights, as well as raised concerns about BBC Arabic.Tim Davie and Deborah Turness defend the BBC amid Trump documentary backlashA view of the BBC building (Image via Getty)According to the BBC, Tim Davie, on Sunday evening, said in a statement:“Like all public organisations, 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.”While Davie backed the organisation by adding, “overall the BBC is delivering well,” Deborah Turness, in her statement, said that the Panorama controversy had “reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC.”Meanwhile, talking about her resignation, Deborah Turness explained that leaders need to be “fully accountable,” adding, “The buck stops with me.” The outgoing CEO of BBC News also defended the British Broadcasting Corporation, adding:“While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”According to the BBC, Tim has been the most senior person in the organisation. He is reportedly responsible for the global workforce and services across television, radio and online. Meanwhile, Deborah has occupied the role of CEO of BBC News since 2022. She oversees news and current affairs programming.For the unversed, despite their resignations, Tim Davie and Deborah Turness are reportedly not expected to leave the organization immediately. Meanwhile, there has been no timescale for their departures.The appointments of their replacements have also not been confirmed.