The outgoing boss of the British Broadcasting Corporation said he was "very proud" of the BBC's journalists, two days after he quit following accusations of bias and the threat of legal action from U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I'm very, very proud of our journalists in this building. They're doing work I think is incredibly important," Tim Davie said on Tuesday, the first time he has spoken publicly since announcing his resignation on Sunday.
"They're doing a wonderful job," he added.
Davie, who has been Director General since 2020, also tried to calm worries over the future of the broadcaster.
"The BBC is going to be thriving, and I support everyone on the team," he said.
The publicly-funded BBC Head of News Deborah Turness, also quit on Sunday, plunging it into its biggest crisis in decades and dominating the front of Britain's newspapers on Tuesday.
Public trust
Analysts say the resignations have exposed deep frictions over governance and editorial standards, raising questions about whether the BBC can maintain public trust.
Legal action
An internal memo by a former BBC adviser accused it of editorial failings on President Donald Trump, the Israel-Hamas war and transgender coverage.
Trump has now threatened legal action for the editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol.
His lawyers said that BBC must retract the "Panorama" documentary by 14 November or face a lawsuit for "no less" than $1 billion, according to a letter sent on Sunday.
BBC apologises
BBC chair Samir Shah apologised for the "error of judgment" in the edit included in a Panorama documentary aired shortly before the November 2024 U.S. presidential election.
In a letter to British lawmakers, Shah also rejected claims of systemic bias, saying surveys showed Britons trusted BBC News more than any other outlet.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the BBC was not "corrupt" or "institutionally biased" and stressed the need for it to maintain high standards.
The programme - produced by a third party - spliced together remarks delivered nearly an hour apart, omitting Trump's call for peaceful protest, creating the impression he urged violence.
The BBC, founded in 1922 and funded largely by a licence fee paid by all TV-owning households, is now without a permanent leader as it faces a review of its funding model.
The current 10-year charter expires in 2027. This is the Royal charter that is a constitutional document that guarentees the BBC's independence from the government.
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Sweden's centre-right government has abandoned plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, instead proposing a revised threshold of 14, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer confirmed on Thursday (11 June).
The U.S. is deepening engagement with Central Asia on critical minerals as global competition for strategic resources intensifies. The issue dominated talks in Astana between Washington and the five Central Asian states.
The United States launched overnight strikes on military targets across Iran, as President Donald Trump warns of further attacks unless a peace deal is reached. Iran responded by targeting U.S. bases in the Gulf and announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island and other major Iranian oil and gas facilities, escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says 19 citizens have been repatriated following a deadly drone attack on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov on 5 June.
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footage of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Iran and Israel said on Monday (8 June) they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, as Axios reported that Trump had privately told Benjamin Netanyahu “be careful, or you will be on your own very soon”.
The Pakistani city of Karachi is struggling under severe heat and humidity as the country enters a prolonged heatwave period. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned of above-normal temperatures across much of the country between 7 and 12 June.
The ambassadors of France, Germany and Britain have attended a meeting at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, raising questions about a possible ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, or at least the resumption of peace talks.
British Defence Minister John Healey has resigned from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over a disagreement about defence spending.
Pope Leo has arrived in the Canary Islands for the final leg of his visit to Spain, where he is set to meet migrants who survived dangerous Atlantic crossings and renew his call for greater global compassion towards people on the move.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing will attend a video conference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (12 June) to discuss global economic imbalances, marking a rare high-level engagement between China and G7 nations ahead of next week's summit in France.
Sweden's centre-right government has abandoned plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, instead proposing a revised threshold of 14, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer confirmed on Thursday (11 June).
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