Former BBC boss breaks silence on 'real truth' of Trump January 6 controversy

Deborah Turness, who resigned as BBC News CEO last year, has defended the broadcaster against bias claims over an edited Trump documentary, insisting it was an editing error not institutional bias

Deborah Turness has pushed back against accusations the BBC is biased following controversy over an edited documentary about President Trump. The 58-year-old, who became CEO of BBC News in 2022, stepped down from her role last year amid suggestions a BBC Panorama documentary misled audiences by altering a speech delivered by the US President.

Turness has now maintained the controversy stemmed from a "problem with the edit" and rejected claims the BBC is anti-Trump. Trump launched a $10 billion lawsuit in December, alleging defamation and violations of trade practices law against the broadcaster. The BBC faced accusations of editing the speech to imply Trump was inciting the Capitol Hill riots in 2021.

The footage made it appear Trump urged rioters to storm the Capitol and "fight like hell" when he actually instructed protesters "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

Jan 6 rioter who threatened judge in Trump case skips prison as arrest warrant issuedREAD MORE:

Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed for defending January 6 rioters in 'ironic' statement

Turness, who resigned alongside Director General Tim Davie in November, has now stood by the BBC and maintained the controversy resulted from substandard editing of a year-old documentary.

"I decided to resign, that was my decision," Turness told Semafor's Trust in Media Summit in Washington DC on Wednesday.

"I was running an organisation of 6,000 journalists that pushes out journalism in 42 languages around the world, and there was a problem with an edit in a Panorama documentary which was a year old."

She added: "It wasn't up to our editorial standards, but I don't accept the charge that it was a sign of institutional bias."

The corporation had previously issued an apology for the edit, calling it an "error of judgement".

For all the latest news straight to your inbox, sign up for our FREE newsletters **here.**

Trump claimed the BBC "changed the words coming out of my mouth" and "admitted they cheated" following their apology.

The "mangled" footage was examined in a 19-page report, put together by a former member of the corporation's own standards committee, revealing multiple incidents that appear to show significant bias in the state broadcaster's coverage.

Turness also acknowledged that BBC newsrooms typically leaned to the left and suggested they didn't reflect the political views of the country.

"The BBC will be the last brand standing... without actually taking sides and being trusted by so many people all around the world," she said.

"Do I think that the BBC newsrooms would, in percentage terms, vote the same way as the nation right now in the UK, in terms of the Reform Party, which is quite an extreme conservative movement?

"Do I think that the newsrooms are in lockstep with that rapid, sudden social change? No, I don't."

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage** *here.*