Britain’s public broadcaster is in deep crisis after it was revealed that a speech by Donald Trump was fraudulently edited in a documentary broadcast last year, leading to the resignations of the director general and the head of news. The US president is now threatening a billion-dollar lawsuit.
Donald Trump has threatened the BBC with a billion-dollar lawsuit over a controversial clip in an October 2024 Panorama documentary that aired a week before the US presidential election. It featured a staged speech by Trump in the wake of the 2021 Capitol riots, giving the impression that he told his supporters he would walk with them to the US Capitol to “fight hard”.
The letter, dated 9 November and sent by Florida lawyer Alejandro Brito, sets out three demands to avoid the lawsuit, with a deadline of 10pm UK time on Friday.
Trump’s team is demanding that the BBC issue a “full and fair correction”, immediately apologise and “appropriately compensate” the US president.
Three demands:
- Issue a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary
- Immediately apologize
- “Appropriately compensate” the US president
A BBC spokesperson said curtly: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”
In response to the scandal, BBC chairman Samir Shah yesterday apologised for an “error of judgement” in the editing of the video. In a letter to the parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Shah admitted that the speech had been edited in a way that gave “the impression of a direct call to violent action”.
“The BBC would like to apologise for this error of judgement,” he added.
Concerns over the controversial clip first emerged after an internal memo from an independent BBC adviser was leaked. It led to the resignations of chief executive Tim Davey and head of news Deborah Terness, which were announced on Sunday evening.
Despite her resignation, Terness defended the corporation yesterday, rejecting accusations of institutional bias and insisting that BBC journalists are “hardworking people” who are “not corrupt”.
The British Prime Minister’s spokesman said yesterday that the BBC was not corrupt or institutionally biased, but had a “crucial role” in the modern era, but it must “maintain trust and quickly correct mistakes when they happen.” A similar view was expressed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who supported the corporation but also said that “lessons need to be learned.”
Veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby told Sky News that he believes the BBC owes Trump nothing more than an apology. He acknowledged that “serious mistakes were made that should be put right,” but insisted that the BBC was “committed to impartiality.”
On the other hand, former BBC legal correspondent Joshua Rosenberg believes the corporation is “very likely” to consider a settlement with Trump as the best option to get out of this crisis. The case is the latest in a long line of legal battles Trump has waged with the media.