RACHEL JUPP APPOINTED HEAD OF BBC NEWS

Rachel Jupp has been appointed as the BBC's director of news and current affairs, taking charge of BBC News almost immediately. She replaces Deborah Turness, who resigned last year amid the fallout from claims of bias at the BBC. The appointment follows internal frustration over delays in naming a successor, reports said. Jupp's most recent role was BBC director of news documentaries and long-form journalism, held for less than a year. The job is reported to carry an annual salary of around £400,000.

Turness's resignation followed the disclosure that a Panorama episode had spliced together two separate sections of a speech by US President Donald Trump. Trump has since launched a $10bn lawsuit over the edit, though the BBC has said it did not defame him. Jupp's previous role was created after a BBC documentary on children in Gaza was found to have breached editorial guidelines on accuracy, for not disclosing that its child narrator was the son of a Hamas official. She has also edited a 2019 Panorama investigation into antisemitism within the Labour party, and has helped shape the BBC's strategy on artificial intelligence.

Trust in news has fallen to an all-time low globally, according to the Reuters Institute. In the UK, trust in news stands at 30% of the public, a 20-point fall over the past decade, the Reuters Institute found, though the BBC remains the UK's most trusted news organisation. BBC director general Matt Brittin said Jupp was "widely regarded for her news judgment, fairness, and high standards." Jupp said she wants to "champion our vital, independent and impartial journalism, deepen the trust people have in the BBC and meet our audiences wherever they are."