London, UK - Britain's BBC apologized on Monday for editing a speech that gave the impression US President Donald Trump made "a direct call for violent action" just before the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, calling it "an error of judgment."

Growing far-right pressure over the issue prompted the dramatic resignations on Sunday of two of the UK broadcaster's top brass and celebrations – as well as a rebuke – from the White House.

In a letter to MPs on Monday, BBC chairman Samir Shah said it accepted that the way Trump's speech was edited in a flagship documentary "did give the impression of a direct call for violent action."

"The BBC would like to apologize for that error of judgment," he added, vowing to reform oversight at the publicly funded network, among other things.

Donald Trump Trump scores big win as Supreme Court rules on SNAP payment pause

It also said it had received letter from Trump threatening legal action over the edits, which it said it would "study."

It came hours after director general Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned amid the escalating right-wing backlash over the issue.

Trump promptly celebrated, accusing BBC journalists of being "corrupt" and "dishonest". His press secretary called the broadcaster "100% fake news."

But Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman pushed back on Monday.

"The BBC has a vital role in an age of disinformation," he said, although he stressed it was "important that the BBC acts swiftly to maintain trust and correct mistakes quickly when they occur."

The crisis grew after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported last week that impartiality concerns were raised in an internal memo by Michael Prescott, a former external standards adviser.

Among them was criticism over clips spliced together from sections of Trump's speech on January 6, 2021, when he was accused of fomenting the mob attack on the US Capitol following the 2020 US presidential election.

The edit made it appear that Trump had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them and "fight like hell."

Donald Trump More details released about anti-Trump poisoning scare at Air Force One base

In the original clip, however, the president urged the audience in the intervening period to walk with him and added: "And we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."

Trump became the first US president in history to be impeached for a second time for his role in the January 6 attack, and was also indicted as part of a federal investigation into election subversion that was dropped as he returned to office this year.