Tim Davie tells staff the BBC must ‘stand up for our journalism’

Outgoing BBC director-general Tim Davie has told staff the corporation has to “stand up for our journalism”, insisting it will control its own narrative which “will not just be given by our enemies”.

Mr Davie quit on Sunday amid a scandal over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump, which has prompted the US president to threaten billion-dollar legal action.

In remarks to BBC staff seen by the PA news agency, he said: “We have to be very clear and stand up for our journalism.

“We are a unique and precious organisation, and I see the free press under pressure, I see the weaponisation. I think we’ve got to fight for our journalism.

“I’m really proud of our work, and the amazing work locally, globally, that we’re doing is utterly precious.”

He added: “We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight for that.

“And I’m fiercely proud of that, and don’t let anyone stop you from thinking that we are doing a fantastic job.”

Mr Davie also alluded to “enemies” of the corporation, telling staff: “We will thrive and this narrative will not just be given by our enemies: It’s our narrative.”

Downing Street declined to comment on the president’s threat to sue the BBC, saying: “This is a matter for the BBC.”

A Number 10 spokesman added: “It’s clearly not for the Government to comment on any ongoing legal matters.”

Asked whether the Government would help the BBC pay any damages that a court might award to the US president, the spokesman said: “Obviously, that’s a hypothetical question.

“Again, it’s not for the Government to comment on any ongoing legal matters.

“Our position is clear: The BBC is independent and it’s for the corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions and, more broadly, we have a close relationship with the US on shared priorities, including security.”

Sir Keir Starmer has not spoken to Mr Trump about his threatened legal action, Downing Street indicated.

A report from Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised concerns that a speech made by Mr Trump before the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021 had been selectively edited by the BBC for a Panorama documentary.

BBC chairman Samir Shah has apologised for an “error of judgment” over the editing.

Speaking to staff, Davie acknowledged it has been a “tough few days”, adding: “Maybe one of my biggest emotions at the moment is I care desperately about the organisation, the thousands of people who work for it, with every cell of my body, I think are absolutely wonderful in what they do.

“And I think we all need to be looking after each other and making sure we set everything in context.”

He continued: “I’m fiercely proud of this organisation. There are difficult times it goes through, but it just does good work.

“And that speaks, it speaks louder than any newspaper, any weaponisation.

“We are the very best of what I think we should be as a society, and that will never change.”

Davie also paid tribute to Deborah Turness, who also quit as CEO of BBC News on Sunday amid the growing uproar over the Panorama edit.

He said: “I know at her heart she is an absolute fighter for impartiality, and I think we should credit her for doing a really tough job for a period in which, as Samir said, it’s been really tough, because the level of weaponisation and polarisation in the world is out there, but she’s done a stellar job.”

The Prescott memo raised concerns about the way clips of Mr Trump’s speech were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.

Mr Prescott had been due to give evidence to MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Wednesday but the session has been postponed.

A legal letter, from Trump counsel Alejandro Brito, has demanded that “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about Mr Trump be retracted immediately.

The letter says if the BBC “does not comply” Mr Trump will be “left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars in damages.”