BBC director-general Tim Davie has told staff the corporation has to "stand up for our journalism" in his farewell speech.
He insisted that the broadcaster must command its own narrative, declaring it "will not just be given by our enemies".
Mr Davie resigned alongside BBC News boss Deborah Turness on Sunday amid an ongoing row at the corporation over its impartiality.
Bidding adieu to staff this morning, the outgoing director-general claimed that free press was "under pressure" and was being "weaponised".
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
He said: "We are a unique and precious organisation, and I think we’ve got to fight for our journalism.
"I’m really proud of our work, and the amazing work locally, globally, that we’re doing is utterly precious.
"We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight for that.
"And I’m fiercely proud of that and don’t let anyone stop you from thinking that we are doing a fantastic job. We’ve actually grown trust. So, let’s get that narrative out there, that’s important."
Mr Davie gave a farewell speech to BBC staff today
|BBC NEWS
"I'm fiercely proud of this organisation.
"There are difficult times it goes through, but it just does good work. And that speaks, it speaks louder than any newspaper, any weaponisation.
"We are the very best of what I think we should be as a society, and that will never change."
Speaking about the lead up to his resignation on Sunday, Mr Davie admitted that "some responsibility had to be taken", declaring that "we did make a mistake and there was an editorial breach".
BBC BIAS ROW - READ MORE:
The two BBC bosses resigned from their senior roles after the organisation became showered in claims of bias after a leaked memo penned by ex-BBC adviser Michael Prescott exposed the extent of "misleading" output.
The 19-page-long dossier was handed to the BBC board, pointing towards the "shocking breaches".
Within the paper, BBC Arabic was ruled as failing in its duty to provide impartial news, with Mr Prescott declaring the content "considerably different" to BBC News content.
Additionally, it was said that staffers had edited together a video of Donald Trump's January 6 speech that made it appear as if he was goading on his followers to "fight like hell".
Mr Davie told staff to stand up to 'enemies'
|BBC
The US President has now threatened the British broadcaster with an eye-watering $1billion lawsuit, setting a deadline of this Friday for a formal response.
Speaking exclusively on The Late Show Live, Donald Trump's lawyer Alejandro Brito shared with GB News that Mr Trump was "extremely frustrated" with what he described as "false and defamatory reporting" by the corporation’s Panorama episode.
"The President seeks three things: a full retraction, an apology, and a monetary settlement proposal from the BBC," Mr Brito outlined.
The BBC has claimed that the organisation will respond in due course.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
More From GB News