People were seen outside the BBC’s London headquarters on November 10, 2025.
On Monday, the BBC officially began its search for a new director general after Tim Davie resigned following backlash over a misleading edit of a speech by Donald Trump, which prompted criticism from the former U.S. president. The broadcaster apologized for the edit, which appeared to suggest that Trump had encouraged violent behavior before the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The BBC has refused Trump’s demand for compensation.
Davie announced his resignation, along with the head of the news division, on November 9 after Trump accused the organization of employing “corrupt journalists.” The job listing for the BBC’s top leadership position went live on Monday, with an application deadline of December 31. The job description calls it one of the most prominent public roles in the United Kingdom.
The broadcaster has also dealt with other controversies this year, including criticism surrounding the broadcast of anti-Israeli military chants by a band performing at the Glastonbury Festival.
BBC chair Samir Shah told a parliamentary committee on Monday—during an inquiry into the Trump edit—that news chief Deborah Turness was right to resign over the mistake. Turness, who stepped down the day before, appeared before the media outside the BBC’s London offices on November 10, 2025. Shah added that he had spent considerable time attempting to persuade Davie not to leave his position. He said the board had full confidence in Davie and wished he had stayed.
Shah also stated that the BBC should have responded more quickly after the mistake became public, following the leak of an internal memo that was later published by The Daily Telegraph.
Trump’s legal team argued that the edit produced a “false, defamatory, malicious, disparaging, and inflammatory” portrayal of his remarks outside the White House. Michael Prescott, the author of the leaked memo, told members of Parliament that the edit had “probably not” damaged Trump’s reputation.
The BBC is funded in the United Kingdom through a licence fee paid by anyone who watches live television.
