MPs demand information from BBC’s chairman on Panorama edit of Trump speech

A committee of MPs has written to the BBC’s chairman demanding information about the way a speech by Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama.

Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the corporation had “serious questions to answer” over a report which claims that viewers were misled in a clip on the documentary Trump: A Second Chance? which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election.

The programme spliced clips together from sections of the US president’s speech on January 6 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.

The committee has asked BBC chairman Samir Shah what actions he will take to address the specific concerns raised and to request a copy of the memo on impartiality by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee.

Dame Caroline, who signed the letter on behalf of the committee, 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.”

The BBC said it will respond to the committee’s letter directly.

A BBC spokesperson said: “While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully.

“Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.”

Downing Street said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and senior officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have received a copy of the memo and have been “assured” by the BBC that the broadcaster will be examining the issues raised in the report.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters on Tuesday: “Fundamentally, it’s crucial that the BBC upholds the highest standards of reporting and impartiality, so it’s trusted as our national broadcaster.

“We take any criticisms of the BBC’s editorial standards very seriously. We expect the BBC to consider feedback that they receive seriously too, and carefully.

“Because the BBC is independent of government, it’s for the corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions.”

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch urged BBC director-general Tim Davie to sack the person responsible for the video.

She told GB News: “It’s absolutely shocking. That is fake news. Actually putting different things together to try and make something look different from what it actually was.

“I do think heads should roll. Whoever it was who did that should be sacked.

“This is a corporation that needs to hold itself to the highest standards, and that means that when we see people doing the wrong thing, they should be punished, they should be sacked.”