The BBC is set to apologise over a Panorama episode that used an edited clip of Donald Trump’s speech about the US Capitol riots – after the White House accused the broadcaster of spreading ‘100 per cent fake news’.
The apology letter is reportedly expected to come from BBC chairman Samir Shah, addressing the doctored Trump footage in a letter to Culture Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage early next week.
It follows revelations that a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised alarm in the summer over the way the speech had been ‘doctored’.
Prescott said the corporation ‘mangled’ the clip to make it appear as if the former US President had encouraged the January 6 violence.
The episode, which aired in October 2024, showed Trump telling supporters he would ‘walk to the Capitol’ with them to ‘fight like hell’ – omitting the words he actually used, pledging to walk with them ‘peacefully and patriotically to make your voices heard’.
Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the clip as ‘100 per cent fake news’, saying: ‘This purposefully and dishonestly edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.’
Since the Telegraph’s report, Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee has demanded answers from Samir Shah, asking what steps will be taken to address the concerns.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The BBC chairman will provide a full response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Monday.’
The BBC is set to apologise over a Panorama episode that used an edited clip of Donald Trump’s speech about the US Capitol riots – after the White House accused the broadcaster of spreading ‘100 per cent fake news’
Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt (pictured) dismissed the clip as ‘100 per cent fake news’, saying: ‘This purposefully and dishonestly edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom’
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who signed the committee’s letter, said: ‘The BBC clearly has serious questions to answer regarding both its editorial standards and the way in which concerns are handled by senior management.
‘The corporation must set the benchmark for accurate and fair reporting, especially in a media landscape where it is all too easy to find news presented in a less than impartial way.
‘The committee needs to be reassured that those at the very top of the BBC are treating these issues with the seriousness they deserve and taking decisive steps to uphold the corporation’s reputation for integrity and public trust.’
Downing Street said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and senior officials had received a copy of the memo and were ‘assured’ by the BBC that it would be examining the issues raised.
The row comes amid a torrid week for the broadcaster, which has already faced scrutiny over its handling of complaints about presenter Gary Lineker’s social-media activity and accusations of bias in coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict – controversies that have intensified calls for the corporation to tighten its editorial standards.
On Saturday, Today presenter Nick Robinson questioned whether Boris Johnson was ‘well placed to lecture anyone else on upholding standards and admitting mistakes’ after the former premier accused the BBC of using the scandal as a ‘diversionary tactic’.
Robinson had earlier acknowledged on air that there was ‘a genuine concern about editorial standards and mistakes’ at the corporation, but added: ‘There is also a political campaign by people who want to destroy the organisation that you are currently listening to. Both things are happening at the same time.’
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson said: ‘There is a difference between trying to destroy the BBC and trying to hold it to account. This is just a diversionary tactic from an organisation that is too arrogant to think it might be at fault.’
Robinson hit back on X, saying: ‘Hands up all those who think Boris Johnson is well placed to lecture anyone else on upholding standards and admitting mistakes.’
He added: ‘We live in a time of deep divisions – about politics and culture, Gaza/Israel, trans and women’s rights, Donald Trump’s policies and politics, to name just three.
‘The BBC, like many public organisations, faces competing pressures about how we should navigate these treacherous waters.
‘We, like others, undoubtedly make mistakes. We can and will do better – but we should stand up to those who prefer propaganda and disinformation.’
Robinson was backed by veteran BBC journalist John Simpson, who said his colleague’s comments were ‘exactly right.’
