BBC admits falsely claiming Donald Trump wanted to shoot critic amid legal threats

An internal memo examining allegations of bias stated: "BBC News accepted that the Liz Cheney story was not covered accurately by the BBC, and the EGSC (editorial guidelines and standards committee) concluded errors were made on this specific issue."

Ms Cheney, daughter of the late former vice-president Dick Cheney, has been among the most outspoken Republican opponents of Mr Trump.

The erroneous reports aired across multiple BBC programmes in the days preceding November 2024's presidential election.

During broadcasts on BBC World News America, one presenter claimed Mr Trump "appeared to suggest Liz Cheney should face a firing squad for her stance on foreign policy".

A separate presenter on the BBC News Channel posed the question to a guest: "He (Trump) is out there on the campaign trail saying he wants people to shoot Liz Cheney in the face… Is that the sort of thing women react well to?"

That same evening, North America editor Sarah Smith told Six O'Clock News viewers Mr Trump had been "ratcheting up the violent rhetoric", adding: "In the latest spat, Donald Trump has been accused of being petty, vindictive and a wannabe tyrant because he suggested that one of his political opponents should face guns, have them trained on her face."

Mr Trump's actual remarks characterised Ms Cheney as a "radical war hawk" who advocated sending soldiers into conflict whilst remaining safely in Washington DC.

He stated: "Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her face. OK? Let's see how she feels about it."

The memo was compiled by Peter Johnston, director of the editorial complaints unit, and presented to the BBC board in October this year, The Telegraph reported.

Its creation followed concerns raised by Michael Prescott, an independent adviser who had scrutinised the corporation's news output. Mr Prescott documented his findings in a dossier submitted to the board the previous month, which was subsequently leaked to the press.

The board commissioned Mr Johnston to investigate the bias allegations contained within Mr Prescott's submission.

Originally prepared as a "preliminary analysis" and not intended for public release, the document has now been made available following a request from MPs serving on the Culture, Media and Sport select committee.

The memo revealed several additional coverage failures acknowledged by BBC News.

Regarding an Iowa poll suggesting Kamala Harris was heading for victory, the document noted: "It was accepted by BBC News that mistakes were made with the Iowa poll. These mistakes had already been recognised in a full BBC News election debrief."

The memo showed BBC News staff defending the Panorama programme, which edited a speech by Mr Trump in a manner that made it appear he was directly inciting supporters to storm the Capitol.

Mr Johnston wrote: "BBC News did not agree with the assertion that the Panorama was anti-Trump. They pointed out that the programme was constructed with a spine of Trump supporters… so they argued that the overall tone was not anti-Trump, but seeking to understand his popular appeal. They also explained why due impartiality did not require an equivalent programme on (Kamala) Harris."

The editorial guidelines and standards committee, comprising chairman Samir Shah, non-executive board member Sir Robbie Gibb, director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness, held a "difference of opinion" regarding the speech edit.

Both Mr Davie and Ms Turness subsequently resigned from their positions.

A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC has published Peter Johnston's note, which is a public acknowledgement of these matters, and we've made clear that we will be publishing a more detailed analysis in due course."

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