The BBC is preparing to formally apologize following revelations that a segment of its investigative program Panorama that edited a speech by former US President Donald Trump that critics said misled viewers.
In a letter to the UK parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, BBC Chairman Samir Shah is expected to express regret over the splicing together of portions of Trump’s remarks from January 6, 2021, into a sequence that made it appear that he said something he did not, according to the Telegraph.
A BBC spokesperson confirmed that the chairman will provide a “full response to the culture, media and sport committee on Monday.”
The sequence omitted Trump saying “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The apology comes amid mounting pressure on Director-General Tim Davie, following the circulation of an 8,000-word whistle-blower dossier alleging systemic bias within the BBC. Shah and Davie were reportedly alerted to the deceptively edited footage in May but a public correction was not made.
The Panorama episode in question aired the week before the 2024 U.S. election and was described in a memo by former BBC standards adviser Michael Prescott as having “completely misled” the audience.
