British Parliament to Question BBC Executives Over Trump Coverage

The Daily Mail reported that members of Parliament will hold a hearing today to question BBC executives about the misleading editing of the Panorama program and the distortion of US President Donald Trump's speech delivered hours before the storming of Congress in January 2021.

Chairman Sameer Shah, board member Sir Robbie Jebb, and former editorial advisor Michael Prescott are expected to face a series of questions about editorial standards. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee sent a letter to the BBC expressing its concern over the selective editing of Trump's speech.

It is worth noting that in the wake of the crisis, Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turnes resigned, while Shah apologized on behalf of the corporation for an error in judgment, acknowledging that the edited 2024 documentary gave the impression of directly inciting the violence that occurred during the storming of Congress.

For his part, US President Donald Trump threatened the corporation with a $1 billion lawsuit after the report's publication, while the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the regulatory body, launched an investigation. In response to Trump's threat, a BBC spokesperson said: "We have not received any further communication from President Trump's lawyers to date. Our position remains unchanged."

The House committee will also hear from Caroline Daniel, a former editorial standards advisor at the BBC, and Caroline Thompson, a non-executive director.