Tim Davie’s resignation as the BBC’s top boss brings to an end his 20-year career at the corporation.

He stepped down on Sunday after saying “mistakes were made” following criticism a Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The 58-year-old reached the top of the organisation in June 2020, when he was named the BBC’s 17th director general.

At the time of his appointment, he said: “I have a deep commitment to content of the highest quality and impartiality,” and when he took the helm, said one of his top priorities would include negotiating with the government over the future of the licence fee.

One of the BBC’s longest-serving executives, he first joined the broadcaster from Pepsi to become director of the Marketing, Communications & Audiences division in 2005.

He then took over responsibility for radio stations including Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 as director of the Audio & Music division in 2008.

A month after being named chief executive of the corporation’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide in 2012, he stepped in to become acting director general after the resignation of George Entwistle.

Davie returned to BBC Worldwide after Tony Hall was appointed as George Entwistle’s permanent successor, with Davie overseeng the merger of BBC Worldwide with the BBC’s production arm to form BBC Studios in 2018.

After landing one of the most high-profile jobs in Britain – and globally – his tenure as director general saw huge challenges.

Former BBC media editor Amol Rajan described the job as “hellish” when Davie first took over.

And while Davie has won praise for successfully overseeing the BBC’s move towards digital, putting measures in place to change its workplace culture and focusing on boosting the BBC’s commercial success, overall, it’s not been an easy ride.

In 2024, the disgraced BBC News presenter Huw Edwards was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he admitted charges of making indecent images of children.

Davie told the press in September last year that there was “shock” and “a lot of upset” within the BBC over Edwards, who had been the BBC’s highest-paid journalist.

There was also controversy over comments made online by former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker.

Lineker left the BBC sooner than planned in May 2025 after sharing a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat, historically used as an antisemitic insult.

Davie said at the time of Lineker’s exit that the former footballer had “acknowledged the mistake made” but thanked the presenter and former footballer for “his passion and knowledge” in sports journalism.

Further scrutiny over his leadership came over the summer, as more unwelcome headlines dogged the corporation.

There was a crisis at BBC flagship series MasterChef, after both of its presenters – Gregg Wallace and John Torode – were sacked following a report which upheld allegations against them..

Asked about poor workplace culture as he faced questions from the the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Davie said he thought “we’re at a moment in society where we’re calling it out”.

Davie added he was “not letting anything lie” when it came to rooting out abuses of power within the corporation

The spotlight also fell on Saturday night stalwart Strictly Come Dancing, with Davie apologising to contestants after complaints of abusive behaviour on the show.

The BBC has also faced strong criticism for a live broadcast of Bob Vylan’s performance at the Glastonbury festival, during which the band’s singer led crowds in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]” and made other derogatory comments.

Davie said that what had happened was “deeply disturbing”, adding: “The BBC made a very significant mistake broadcasting that.”

He said that he had done the “right thing” at the time, by pulling it off the iPlayer and that the measures which have since been put in place would “categorically prevent what happened”.

Davie also said he thought the corporation made the “right decision” to not air Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a controversial documentary which was later picked up by Channel 4.

The BBC shelved the programme due to impartiality concerns it had surrounding the production.

Earlier in the year, a separate documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, was pulled from iPlayer after it was found that the narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

The film, made by independent production company HOYO Films, was later found by a review to have breached editorial guidelines on accuracy.

The BBC board also had to apologise over “missed opportunities” to tackle “bullying and misogynistic behaviour” by former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood.

An independent report into what the BBC knew about Mr Westwood’s conduct was published in February, highlighting a series of incidents and allegations it said amount to a “considerable body of evidence” which it failed to investigate properly.

Westwood, who has always denied claims of misconduct, has since been charged with four counts of rape.

Davie’s tenure also included overseeing cuts to BBC local services which he defended as being “the right thing”, but admitted were “very difficult and unpopular”.

He’s also had to deal with issues surrounding equal pay at the BBC.

It was only six months ago, in a speech to civic and community leaders in Salford, that Davie insisted the BBC could help tackle a “crisis of trust” in British society.

He set out measures he said would allow the broadcaster to play a leading role in reversing a breakdown in trust in information and institutions, as well as tackling division and disconnection between people.

But in his resignation letter on Sunday, Davie said “the BBC is delivering well but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility”.

BBC chairman Samir Shah described Davie as “a devoted and inspirational leader and an absolute believer in the BBC and public service broadcasting”.

“He has achieved a great deal,” Shah added. “Foremost, under his tenure, the transformation of the BBC to meet the challenges in a world of unprecedented change and competition is well under way.”

A Conservative MP’s decision to cross the floor and join the Liberal party is “exceptionally valuable”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday, as he looks ahead to passing his first federal budget.

Chris d’Entremont from Nova Scotia defected to the Liberals on Tuesday shortly after Carney put forward his fiscal plan, inching the Liberal government closer to a majority.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, d’Entremont said he left because he no longer felt represented by Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.

Poilievre and his party have criticised Carney’s budget as doing little to address the cost of living while ballooning Canada’s deficit.

In a statement, the Conservative party accused d’Entremont of breaking his promises to the Canadians who elected him, and of defecting due to “personal grievances” with the party.

Nova Scotia’s d’Entremont resignation sent shockwaves through Ottawa on budget night.

In announcing his decision to leave, d’Entremont said he supported the Liberal budget and that it “hits the priorities” he has heard from people in his constituency.

“I came to a clear conclusion: there is a better path forward for our country,” he said.

At a news conference on Wednesday, he criticised Conservative leader Poilievre for what he said is his “negative” style of politics.

The MP won his riding narrowly last April in the riding of Acadie-Annapolis, coming ahead of the Liberal candidate by just one percentage point.

His decision to defect comes ahead of a scheduled leadership review for Poilievre in January and amid wider criticisms that his combative style of politics contributed to the Conservatives’ election loss earlier this year.

It also pushes Carney’s Liberals closer to a majority, as the prime minister looks to pass his government’s first budget through parliament. Failure to do so could risk another election.

On Wednesday, Carney appealed for more allies. “We’ll speak to anyone publicly or otherwise who can support us,” he said.

Carney later walked with the new Liberal MP into his first national caucus meeting, where they were greeted with applause.

A vote on the budget is expected to be held mid-November.

Carney’s government has called the fiscal plan as an “investment budget” meant to attract capital to Canada and shield it from the impact of US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

It increases Canada’s deficit to C$78bn ($55.3bn; £42.47bn), the second largest in history, but also includes cuts like slashing the size of the federal workforce by 10% in the coming years.

The Conservatives and the Quebec sovereigntist party the Bloc Québécois have both indicated they will oppose it.

“This costly budget forces Canadians to spend more on debt interest than on healthcare transfers,” said Poilievre in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening.

The left-leaning New Democratic Party’s interim leader Don Davies said they still want time to study the budget before they decide. The party holds seven seats.

Mark Carney

The wife of a Malaysian pastor abducted eight years ago has won a lawsuit against the police and the government, in a landmark case that has gripped the nation.

Raymond Koh was pulled out of his car by masked men in a suburb of the capital Kuala Lumpur in 2017. His whereabouts remain unknown – his family has long maintained he was taken by police.

On Wednesday, the high court ruled he had been forcibly disappeared, with the judge holding the government and police responsible for his abduction. It is Malaysia’s first such judgement.

The court also ruled that the state must pay more than 31m ringgit (£5.7m; $7.4m) to Mr Koh’s family, the largest sum for damages in Malaysian legal history.

In an emotional speech following the decision, his wife Susanna Liew told reporters: “We are overjoyed and thankful to God that we have a fair and honest judgement.

“Though this will not bring Pastor Raymond back, it is somewhat a vindication and closure for the family,” she said.

“We dedicate this struggle and judgement to Pastor Raymond Koh, a man of compassion and courage, and to all victims of enforced disappearances.”

The disappearance of Mr Koh, along with the abduction of activist Amri Che Mat, has long intrigued Malaysia.

Both cases took place within months of each other between the end of 2016 and early 2017, and led to heated public speculation.

Mr Koh’s case, in particular, dominated the headlines because his abduction took place in broad daylight and had been captured on a CCTV camera, and was witnessed by passers-by.

Both families had insisted that the men had been taken by the police, which the police consistently denied.

The men’s disappearances prompted two investigations, one conducted by Malaysia’s human rights commission, and another by the government.

Both investigations eventually concluded that the men had likely been abducted by the elite Special Branch of the police as they were perceived as threats to mainstream Islam in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The government report – which was classified as secret until the families sued for access – said that “rogue cops” were responsible for the abductions, and the official who led the operation had “extreme views” against Christians and Shia Muslims.

Mr Koh had been targeted because he was suspected of proselytising to Muslims, which his family has denied. Apostasy is illegal in Malaysia.

Amri Che Mat had come under suspicion as he is a Shia Muslim. Malaysia practises a moderate form of Sunni Islam.

The wives of Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat separately sued the state for damages and to force the authorities to reveal their husbands’ whereabouts.

On Wednesday, the high court ruled that police officials, the Royal Malaysian Police, and the Malaysian government were liable for the abduction of Mr Koh.

Besides awarding several million ringgit to Ms Liew for emotional distress, the judge ruled that 10,000 ringgit (£1,830; $2,385) in general damages be paid for each day of Mr Koh’s disappearance, starting from when he was abducted and ending on the day his whereabouts are disclosed by the state.

The judge also ordered the state to reopen the investigation and ascertain Mr Koh’s whereabouts.

As of Wednesday, the rolling sum of the general damages works out to be more than 31.8 million ringgit. The final figure is expected to become the largest payout in Malaysian history, according to lawyers acting for Ms Liew.

The money will be deposited into a trust, to which Ms Liew and her children will likely be named as beneficiaries.

The high court judge also found the government and police liable for Amri Che Mat’s abduction. His wife Norhayati, who sued for lesser offences compared to Ms Liew’s lawsuit, was awarded about three million ringgit.

“The feeling of sadness remains because questions about Amri’s whereabouts, whether he is alive, dead, or in good health, are all still unanswered,” Norhayati told reporters.

“We sincerely hope that those responsible will be held accountable for what they have done.”