
US - The BBC's outgoing director general Tim Davie will address staff on Tuesday morning after Donald Trump threatened to sue the corporation for $1bn (£760m) over a Panorama programme.

It follows a leaked internal BBC memo which said the programme had misled viewers by splicing together two parts of the US president's 6 January 2021 speech, making it appear as if he had explicitly encouraged the Capitol Hill riot. Trump threatened to take legal action if the BBC did not make a "full and fair retraction" of the programme by Friday. The BBC has said it will reply in due course. Arriving at the BBC's London headquarters on Tuesday, Davie said he was "very proud of the journalists in this building" doing "incredibly important" work. "Personally, I'm here to lead and support them," he told reporters gathered outside. Davie's staff call will take place mid-morning. He said on Sunday the "current debate" around the corporation was not the only reason for his decision to step down, but "understandably contributed" to it."Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility."
Outgoing BBC News CEO Deborah Turness, who resigned alongside Davie, insisted on Monday the corporation was not "institutionally biased". Separately, BBC chair Samir Shah has said the BBC would like to apologise for the edit, which he called an "error of judgement" which gave the impression of a "direct call for violent action". The issue is expected to be raised in the Commons later in the day in a private session of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is also expected to make a statement in the Commons. Trump's legal team wrote to the BBC on Sunday threatening to take action over the "false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements". It calls for an apology and for the BBC to "appropriately compensate" the president. Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito also accused the BBC of defamation under Florida law. (BBC)

