Trump slams 'corrupt journalists' as BBC chief quits over speech edit

WASHINGTON, Nov 10: Donald Trump on Sunday attacked "corrupt journalists" after the BBC chief resigned from the British broadcaster in a scandal over the editing of a documentary about the US president.

Trump said "corrupt journalists" had been exposed, adding "these are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election."

The criticism emerged over clips spliced together from a Trump speech on January 6, 2021, when he was accused of fomenting the mob attack on the US Capitol seeking to keep him in power despite losing his re-election bid.
Meanwhile, the BBC apologised on Monday for editing a speech that gave the impression US President Donald Trump made "a direct call for violent action" just before the 2021 US Capitol assault, calling it "an error of judgement".

A growing furore around the issue prompted the dramatic resignations on Sunday of two of the broadcaster's top brass and celebrations -- as well as a rebuke -- from the White House.

It has also reopened debate in the UK over the BBC, cherished by many but which has faced long-standing accusations of institutional bias, regularly from those on the political right and, more recently, from those on the left as well.

In a letter to MPs on Monday, BBC chairman Samir Shah said it accepted that the way Trump's speech was edited in a flagship documentary "did give the impression of a direct call for violent action".

"The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement," he added, vowing to reform oversight at the publicly funded broadcaster, among other things.

It came hours after director general Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned amid the escalating backlash over the issue.

Trump promptly celebrated, accusing BBC journalists of being "corrupt" and "dishonest". His press secretary called the broadcaster "100-percent fake news".

But Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman pushed back on Monday. �"AFP