2025 BBC editorial bias allegations

Director-General Tim Davie, who resigned

In November 2025, the BBC faced controversy over allegations of systemic editorial bias, following the leaking of an internal memo by Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the BBC's Editorial Standards Committee. The memo, in the form of a letter to BBC board members, was published in the Daily Telegraph. Prescott stated that the BBC's coverage of several issues reflected systemic bias. In particular he alleged that an instance of editing in a 2024 episode of Panorama misled viewers in how it depicted a speech by then outgoing President Donald Trump during the events of the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

The publication of the memo saw significant political controversy, leading to BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness resigning. The Chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, later apologised for the Panorama edit but defended the BBC against wider claims of bias, while US President Trump threatened legal action.

The contents of the memo, along with the events leading to its leaking and wider reporting, led to criticism of the involvement of right-wing people within British politics and media. This included the reported influence of BBC board member Robbie Gibb, who previously worked as an editorial advisor to the right-wing channel GB News, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who appointed him to the board, and their prior relationships with Prescott. Politicians including Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey and Scotland's First Minister John Swinney called for Gibb's removal from the BBC board.

Allegations

One allegation in the memo related to the juxtaposition of footage from Trump's speech on January 6, 2021, which was alleged to be misleading. The BBC subsequently apologised, labelling it an "error of judgement".

The controversy emerged when a memo written Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the BBC's Editorial Standards Committee for three years, was leaked to The Daily Telegraph.

Prescott's memo was made available online by the UK Parliament Culture, Media and Sport Committee as part of BBC Chair Samir Shah's written response on 10 November 2025.

The most prominent example reported was the editing in an episode of the BBC current affairs programme Panorama, broadcast in October 2024 one week before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, of President Donald Trump's speech during his 6 January 2021 address which was said to be misleading in making it appear that Trump encouraged the January 6 United States Capitol attack. A similar edit from a 2022 edition of Newsnight was also subsequently identified by The Daily Telegraph, during which Mick Mulvaney, being interviewed on air, commented on the footage being "spliced" from two separate parts of the speech.

Prescott also expressed concerns regarding the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating that its reporting was effectively "censored" by LGBT specialist reporters who promoted a pro-trans agenda. He conveyed feeling "despair" at the lack of action from BBC management "when issues come to light."

The memo also contained criticism of how the BBC in various forms had covered the ongoing Gaza war. This included contributors, particularly on BBC Arabic, some of whom were highlighted as having made antisemitic comments on social media including calling for the killing of Jewish people. It also alleged that BBC Arabic gave extensive coverage to stories that painted Israel as the aggressor while burying stories that contradicted that narrative. The Prescott document also highlighted how the BBC's flagship current affairs programme Newsnight highlighted claims that thousands of babies were on the brink of starvation in Gaza that it already knew to be false. The Times reported that multiple BBC Arabic staff have been accused by the pro-Israel group CAMERA of making anti-Israel remarks on social media and breaching impartiality guidelines. The Daily Telegraph reported that BBC Arabic had to make more than 200 corrections following upheld complaints by CAMERA.

The memo also stated that producers of four BBC programmes with historical content preferred non-expert academics who provided quotable sound bites on topics like racism and prejudice. This approach, according to Prescott, led to oversimplified and distorted narratives about British colonialism, slavery, and their lasting effects.

BBC response

Chair of the BBC, Samir Shah

In response to the criticism, the BBC acknowledged the issues raised but defended its editorial decisions, insisting that corrections were made when errors were identified. The BBC's chairman, Samir Shah, and Director-General, Tim Davie, faced growing pressure as reporting of the accusations continued. On 9 November 2025, both Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resigned from their positions at the BBC.

The BBC stated that it would implement reforms to improve transparency and impartiality in its coverage, but the resignation of key executives did little to quell the criticism, with many commentators arguing that the BBC's systemic issues with bias went deeper than the departures of two senior staff.

On 10 November, Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC publicly apologised for an "error of judgment" in the way the speech by president Donald Trump was edited. Shah however pushed back against the wider criticism of the memo, stating that Prescott's examples failed to present a "full picture of the discussions, decisions and actions that were taken" and that it was untrue for reporting to suggest that the BBC had attempted to bury concerns. Three days later the BBC issued an apology to Trump over the editing of his speech in Panorama and agreed the specific episode would not be re-broadcast, but rejected his demands for compensation.

Speaking to The Guardian, BBC reporter Deborah Cohen, whose work included covering gender dysphoria, rebuffed the memo's claims of internal censoring around trans issues. In contrast to the memo's claims, Cohen stated that pressure only came from outside the organisation, and that any apparent lapse in coverage was in line with editorial decisions across all output and not trans stories being subject to special treatment.

Other responses

Following the initial reporting, Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee, wrote to Samir Shah requesting details on how the BBC had addressed Prescott's concerns.

The response from the UK government and other political figures varied. The spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that while mistakes had been made, the government still supported the BBC and that it must act to maintain public trust. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also defended the BBC, suggesting that there was a "weaponisation" of criticism of the BBC which was "from all sides for its coverage of highly contentious and contested issues". Conservative Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch while calling the BBC a treasured institution stated that it had contempt for those who pointed out its mistakes, while Reform leader Nigel Farage said the Panorama footage amounted to electoral interference and that the BBC had been "institutionally biased for decades". Former prime minister Boris Johnson, in an article for The Daily Telegraph, demanded an explanation from Tim Davie or his resignation.

Internationally, the White House condemned the BBC's actions, with Trump thanking The Telegraph for exposing the alleged bias. Trump's administration also called for an independent inquiry into the BBC's operations. On 10 November, the BBC reported that it received a letter from Trump in which he threatened legal action over the edited version of his speech documented in a BBC documentary.

Alleged roles of Robbie Gibb and Boris Johnson

Sources within the BBC told The Guardian that the board member who "led the charge" over the criticism in Prescott's memo was Robbie Gibb, Theresa May's former communications chief, and spoke of a political "coup". Gibb, who was appointed to the BBC board by Boris Johnson and confirmed by Rishi Sunak, had previously helped to found the right-wing channel GB News. He also led a consortium that bought The Jewish Chronicle on behalf of a backer whose identity has never been revealed; the purchase was followed by a pronounced shift of the Chronicle to the right and a journalistic scandal involving fabricated stories.

It was also reported that Michael Prescott, the memo's author, and Robbie Gibb were friends, and that Prescott had previously been involved in efforts by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson to install a preferred candidate (former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre) as head of Ofcom. According to The Guardian it was alleged that the leaking itself was part of a coordinated effort to undermine the organisation, which Boris Johnson denied as "complete and utter bollocks".

Following the reporting of allegations regarding Gibb's role in the affair, some BBC staff and politicians called for his removal from the BBC board, including Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey and the First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party, John Swinney.

Asked in a BBC interview if there was a political agenda at work to destroy the corporation, BBC Chair Samir Shah said "Suggestion of a coup is fanciful" and "The board is not a bunch of wet people who just fall over."

See also

• Criticism of the BBC
• Balen Report
• BBC controversies