As he addressed his staff, the BBC’s outgoing director-general Tim Davie sounded remarkably upbeat given the events of the last few days.

Within a matter of minutes, he had said the word “proud” almost a dozen times. Proud of his staff, proud of what the corporation represents.

Having announced his resignation on Sunday, he was keen to stress that he was still in charge at the BBC and that he would ensure a smooth transition for whoever takes over.

Although he admitted it’s “been a rough few days”, quite frankly, it was a little bizarre how chipper he seemed. “This narrative will not be given by our enemies,” he insisted.

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You get a sense his own staff are beyond fed up with the “nothing to see here” approach Davie has maintained throughout his tenure.

While the outgoing director-general might be hoping an inspirational quote or two might reassure those working for him, in truth, many of the insiders I’ve spoken to have seemed both weary and relieved that he’s finally on his way.

His departure is “long overdue”, one told me.

Rumours of a coup and behind the scenes boardroom plotting have been embarrassing as the BBC tries to present a united front. In the same all-staff call, BBC chair Samir Shah was quick to say we shouldn’t believe “conspiracy theories”.

He also suggested criticism of the board was “disrespectful”, when answering a question about whether members demonstrate BBC values.

If the briefing was supposed to be a chance for staff to put their questions to those in charge, it certainly wasn’t that.

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I’m told that while the Q&A had a comments box for questions, any submitted had to be reviewed before everyone could see them.

When questions about the rumoured plotter in chief, board member Sir Robbie Gibb, weren’t getting through, staff started attempting to ask questions in the reply boxes, which were public. A friend of Mr Gibb’s suggested to Deadline that the coup theory was “absolute nonsense”.

It shows BBC staff are angry, and that’s understandable given the battering the organisation has taken in the last week.

While the bosses are keen to stress that if everyone pulls together, the BBC can ride out the storm, it’s going to take more than words to reassure frustrated staff.

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”.

Nigel Farage has said he could not quote Donald Trump’s feelings on the BBC before the watershed following a phone call with him.

The Reform UK leader revealed he had a phone call with the US president on Friday in which Mr Trump said “is this how you treat your best ally?”

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BBC director-general Tim Davie and the chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, announced they had resigned on Sunday evening over questions about bias after a BBC Panorama special spliced Mr Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech so it appeared he had encouraged supporters to storm Capitol Hill.

In a post on his Truth Social social media platform after their resignations, Mr Trump accused Mr Davie and the “top people in the BBC” of being “very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election”.

Mr Trump’s lawyers have demanded the BBC retracts the “false” statements about him in the documentary or face legal action for $1bn (£760m) in damages.

Mr Farage told Sky News that people should “put yourself in Trump’s shoes” as he questioned how they would feel if they were the person making sure the UK had security guarantees, and you had been “stitched up on the eve of a national election”.

“What the BBC did was election interference,” Mr Farage said.

“If you put yourself into Trump’s shoes, he made his feelings to me in no uncertain terms – in no unquotable terms.”

He said he could not reveal what words Mr Trump used “before the watershed”, adding the president was “very, very unhappy”.

The Reform leader said the BBC has been “institutionally biased for decades” – just moments after Ms Turness arrived at the BBC’s central London headquarters and admitted “mistakes are made” but said there is “no institutional bias”.

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Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has echoed Mr Farage’s assertions, saying that she too believed the BBC was “institutionally biased”.

She told reporters on Monday: “I think this isn’t just about the latest doctoring of a documentary about Donald Trump. It’s about the way the BBC has continually covered issues of sex and gender.

“A lot of women out there believe that the BBC is institutionally biased against them. A lot of Jewish people believe that the BBC is institutionally biased against them, and so those are the people that I’m speaking out for.”

Ms Badenoch went on to say that the “complaining” about Mr Trump’s reaction was a “distraction”.

“I believe that the BBC is an institution that we need to treasure in our country, but the only way that we will be able to look after this institution is if it starts to have a little bit of humility and look at its own mistakes rather than have contempt and sneer at all of the people who are pointing out those mistakes,” she continued.

She added: “We need to remember it is paid for by license fee payers. If the BBC is sued by President Trump or anyone else, it is license fee payers who actually pay that cost. So we need to start by looking after them first.”

BBC chair Samir Shah sent a letter to parliament’s culture, media and sport committee on Monday accepting the way Mr Trump’s speech was edited “did give the impression of a direct call for violent action” and apologised “for that error of judgement”.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has urged Mr Farage, Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer to condemn Mr Trump’s attack on the BBC, calling it a “serious threat to our national interest”.

In an open letter to the three leaders, he said: “It should not be up to foreign powers to dictate where the British people get their news from.

“We must stand united to defend our democracy from foreign interference like this – even when it comes from a crucial ally.”

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Earlier, the chair of the culture, media and sport committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, told Mornings with Ridge and Frost it is “really regrettable” Mr Davie had to step down but she thought “he was right to do so”.

Dame Caroline 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 the 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”.

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”.

She 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.