BBC overhauls editorial committee after Trump speech row

The BBC on Friday announced a shake-up of its editorial standards committee after criticism of how it handled concerns about the editing of a Donald Trump speech in a Panorama program and other issues. The changes are intended to ensure swift, appropriate and transparent action on editorial concerns, and the revamped panel will not be chaired by the BBC's chairman and will not include the head of news.

Under the plan, Caroline Thomson, a BBC board member who conducted the review, will serve as the committee's new chairwoman. The BBC chairman, Samir Shah, will no longer be part of the committee and the head of news will not serve on it. Sir Robbie Gibb, a former Downing Street director of communications who sits on the BBC board, will remain on the panel and will be joined by two additional non-executive directors.

The changes follow an internal review published Friday by Caroline Thomson, carried out after a leaked memo highlighted concerns about the handling of editorial issues, including the Panorama episode. The review said BBC executives did not act quickly or decisively enough after discovering the misleading edit of Trump’s speech.

The revamped committee is intended to have a clearer remit and a more robust and transparent approach to tackling editorial concerns, including those connected to the Panorama episode and other matters that were raised in the leaked memo, such as coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict and transgender issues. A separate Friday review concluded that the BBC’s editing guidelines should not be changed despite the Panorama row.

Peter Johnston, the BBC’s director of editorial complaints and reviews, said he was asked to review the guidelines on the use of editing. He said no changes were required, but the lessons from the Panorama episode would be reinforced and the issue surrounding the edited Trump clip would be addressed as part of ongoing improvements.

The BBC has previously apologized for an