BBC chair Samir Shah has written a detailed letter to MPs following controversy over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump.

Following a backlash, both BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness have both stepped down from their roles.

Mr Trump is also understood to have threatened the corporation with legal action over the editing together of two pieces of video from his speech on 6 January 2021 in the BBC’s flagship late-night news programme Panorama.

While the original programme received no complaints, Mr Shah confirmed in his letter that over 500 complaints had been received since a memo from former independent adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board, Michael Prescott, was leaked to The Daily Telegraph.

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In his memo, Mr Prescott detailed what he called “worrying systemic issues with the BBC’s coverage”, also discussing other coverage, including trans issues, and the war in Gaza.

Mr Prescott specifically mentioned Ms Turness and deputy director of BBC News, Jonathan Munro in his memo, calling them “defensive”.

An apology – by denial of a cover-up

In his four-page letter of response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mr Shah said following “deliberation”, the board “accept that the way Mr Trump’s speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action”, calling it an “error of judgement”.

He also noted that some coverage of the memo leak, implied a list of stories and issues had been “uncovered”, which the BBC had sought to “bury”.

Mr Shah said that interpretation was “simply not true” and urged for a “sense of perspective” to be maintained when considering the “thousands of hours of outstanding journalism” the BBC produces each year.

Changes in leadership

The BBC chair also said the view that the BBC “has done nothing to tackle these problems” is “simply not true”.

Mr Shah admitted there were occasions “when the BBC gets things wrong” or “reporting requires more context or explanation”.

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Raising the point that the information relied on by Mr Prescott for his memo was the very research commissioned by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC), he said the memo “did not present a full picture of the discussions, decisions and actions that were taken”.

Mr Shah detailed changes in leadership across the BBC Arabic team, as well as changes in World Service and BBC News – all of which he said would help tackle the issues raised.

So what is being done?

At the end of the letter Mr Shah committed to three actions:

• “The board will commit to revisiting each and every item set out in Michael Prescott’s note and take further action where appropriate. We will be transparent about the conclusions we reach, and the actions taken.”

• “Where we have put in measures already, in response to the original EGSC research, we will repeat those internal reviews to check the changes made are making material improvements to the output.”

• “Where we have already accepted that items fall short of our editorial standards, we will ensure that amendments to the relevant online stories are made where this was deemed appropriate.”

Mr Shah concluded by saying the BBC would “champion impartiality”, which he said was “more necessary now than ever before”, calling it the “sacred job of the BBC”.

Former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood has been granted conditional bail during a court appearance to face charges of rape and sexual assault.

The 68-year-old is accused of offences against seven women, including three indecent assaults at the BBC studios in the 1990s.

Westwood, wearing a dark grey shirt, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address as he appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The former BBC DJ, who returned to the UK from Nigeria last week, was not required to enter pleas to any of the charges at this stage.

He has attended five police interviews voluntarily since the investigation into the alleged offences began, the court heard.

Westwood has previously denied all allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring granted bail on the condition that he does not contact prosecution witnesses, and set his next court appearance at Southwark Crown Court for 8 December.

The charges

Westwood is charged with four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault.

These include an allegation of rape against a woman at a hotel in London in 1996, one count of rape from the early 2000s at an address in London, and two counts of rape at an address in London in the 2010s.

He is further accused of four indecent assaults in London in the 1980s, three indecent assaults at the BBC in the 1990s, and two indecent assaults in the early 2000s.

The former DJ is also alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman at a nightclub in Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 2010, and faces a second sexual assault charge against a woman at a music festival in London in the 2010s.

Westwood began his broadcasting career in local radio before joining Capital Radio in the late 1980s.

He moved to the BBC in 1994, working on Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra for almost 20 years.

After leaving the BBC in 2013, he then joined Capital Xtra, hosting a regular Saturday show where he was referred to as “The Big Dawg”, before he left the company in 2022.

The resignation of the BBC’s director general was “regrettable” but he was “right to do so”, the chair of parliament’s culture committee has told Sky News.

Dame Caroline Dinenage said she was not expecting the resignations of Tim Davie and the chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness, which they announced on Sunday evening.

She told Mornings with Ridge and Frost: “I think it’s really regrettable that Tim Davie had to step down – huge commitment to the BBC and public service broadcasting.

“But I think he was right to do so. I think restoring trust in the corporation has got to come first.”

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Dame Caroline, who will chair a culture, media and sport committee meeting on Tuesday where the issue will be discussed, said the BBC was “very slow to react” to a leaked report by Michael Prescott, an independent adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards board.

The dossier, sent to the BBC board and leaked to The Daily Telegraph, accused a Panorama special on Donald Trump, released a week before the 2024 US election, of being “neither balanced nor impartial – it seemed to be taking a distinctly anti-Trump stance”.

He also said the programme had spliced two clips from separate parts of Mr Trump’s speech to his supporters on 6 January 2021, the day of the Capitol Hill riots, to give the “impression that Trump had incited protesters to storm Capital Hill”.

Mr Prescott also raised bias concerns about the BBC’s coverage of trans issues and the war in Gaza.

Dame Caroline accused the BBC of failing to take his report seriously “until it was too late”.

Ms Turness arrived at the BBC’s central London headquarters on Monday morning, where she admitted “mistakes are made” but said there is “no institutional bias”.

She defended the BBC’s journalists, saying “of course” they are not corrupt and they “strive for impartiality”.

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Dame Caroline said the situation “has to influence the BBC charter decisions”.

The BBC’s Royal Charter outlines the corporation’s mission, public purposes and governance, along with specific obligations and how it is funded.

It is up for renewal in 2027, with the government currently carrying out a review to determine the BBC’s future, including its funding model and mission.

Dame Caroline said the last review, 10 years before, put integrity as the BBC’s top missions.

She added: “I think the charter has to look at how the BBC retains its balance and its integrity, how it retains the trust of the British people and the licence fee payer, because, you know, that’s absolutely fundamental for the future of the BBC.

“But actually it reflects upon us as a nation, because the BBC is such a well known and such a well respected brand around the world.”

BBC chair Samir Shah is expected to apologise in a letter to Dame Caroline’s committee later today.