BBC names interim director amid Trump lawsuit

The BBC on Wednesday appointed an interim director general to take over from Tim Davie, who resigned after a row about a documentary which misleadingly edited a 2021 speech by US President Donald Trump.

Davie will stand down on 2 April and Rhodri Talfan Davies "will act as interim director-general until a new, permanent director-general starts", the British broadcaster said on its website.

BBC chair Samir Shah said in a statement that Davies was "an outstanding leader who brings deep editorial experience" as well as a "passionate commitment to the power of public broadcasting" to the role.

Trump launched a $10-billion lawsuit last year against the BBC over a documentary on its flagship investigation series Panorama that edited the US leader's speech ahead of the US Capitol riot, when lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election win.

The programme spliced together two separate sections of Trump's speech on 6 January, 2021, making it appear that he had explicitly urged supporters to attack the Capitol.

The US leader is seeking "damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000" for each of two counts against the BBC, alleging defamation and a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The BBC intends to ask a US federal court in Florida to dismiss the suit, arguing the Miami court lacks "personal jurisdiction", according to court papers.

They will argue Trump "will not be able to prove" that the documentary, which aired before the 2024 election but not in the United States, "caused him any cognisable injury".

Davie resigned on 9 November last year, and the process to appoint a new director-general is underway. It was not immediately clear how long Davies would serve as the interim director-general.

Shah, on Wednesday, thanked Davie for his "extraordinary contribution to the BBC".

Davies, 54, was previously director of BBC Wales for nine years before becoming head of nations in January 2021, overseeing programming for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

He has also been leading the company's strategy on the BBC's Generative AI project.