(MENAFN) The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned Sunday following accusations that the state-funded broadcaster misled viewers in a documentary about President Donald Trump’s role in the 2021 Capitol riots.

The resignations came a day after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt labeled the BBC a “Leftist propaganda machine” and accused it of being “purposefully dishonest,” in response to claims that the broadcaster had spliced together separate segments of Trump’s January 6 speech.

Davie offered only a brief explanation for his departure, saying that “the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to [his] decision” and acknowledging that “there have been some mistakes made.” Turness noted that the controversy surrounding the Panorama program “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC,” while asserting that the broadcaster seeks to “pursue the truth with no agenda” and is not “institutionally biased.”

Reports indicate that the Panorama episode edited together Trump remarks made roughly 54 minutes apart. Footage of protesters marching toward the Capitol was included immediately after the clip, even though the footage had been recorded before Trump addressed supporters.

The resignations follow a pattern of scrutiny for the BBC. Earlier this month, Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, ruled that another documentary violated journalistic standards by failing to disclose that the narrator of a program on Gaza was the son of a Hamas official, deeming it “materially misleading.”

The BBC is funded through an annual license fee of £174.50 ($229), with the UK government also providing direct funding for about one-third of its World Service operations.

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