Critics want changes to the BBC, while supporters urge the government to protect it from political interference.
Britain’s government was due to weigh in Tuesday on a feud between the BBC and U.S. President Donald Trump, who is threatening to sue the broadcaster over the way it edited a speech he made after losing the 2020 presidential election.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was set to deliver a statement on the BBC crisis in the House of Commons, with critics demanding major changes to the corporation and supporters urging the government to defend the U.K.’s public broadcaster from political interference.
Outgoing BBC Director-General Tim Davie, who announced his resignation on Sunday because of the scandal, said the BBC needed “to fight for our journalism” in the face of growing attacks.
“We have made some mistakes that have cost us,” Davie acknowledged in a statement to staff, but added he was “fiercely proud” of the organization.
“I think we’ve got to fight for our journalism,” he said.Trump threatens to sue
A lawyer for Trump is demanding a retraction, apology and compensation from the broadcaster over the allegedly defamatory sequence in a documentary broadcast last year.
Fallout from the documentary has already claimed the BBC’s top executive, Davie, and head of news Deborah Turness, who both resigned over what the broadcaster called an “error of judgment.”
The BBC has apologized for misleading editing of a speech Trump delivered on Jan.
