Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1.5 billion
US President Donald Trump has threatened to sue Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC, for US$1 billion (A$1.53 billion) for “trying to interfere in the presidential election” last year. His claim relates to the revelation the BBC spliced together two sections of a speech he gave ahead of the riots and attack on the US Capitol in 2021.
A spokesperson for the President’s legal team told NBC News: “The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election.”
They added: “President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”
BBC reporters have seen the legal letter, which sets out three demands, including “issuing a full and fair retraction of the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published”.
It also demanded an apology, and appropriate compensation for the harm caused.
“If the BBC does not comply with the above by November 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST, President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages,” the letter concludes.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”
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The fallout from the incident has been immense, with BBC director Tim Davie, and news CEO Deborah Turness, resigning this week. BBC chairman Samir Shah also apologised for the “error of judgement” in broadcasting the edited video the day before last year’s election.
Trump has celebrated the demise of Davie and Turness, writing on social media: “The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th.
“These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”
The offending Panorama program aired on the BBC in October last year. The two sections of Trump’s speech appeared to be continuous, however were actually said 50 minutes apart in 2021.
“Consequently, this gave the impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement,” the broadcaster said.
Despite the admission, BBC News has said there was no intention to mislead.
The broadcaster said the editing was used to convey the key messages of the speech in a “condensed format”, and to illustrate what was happening on the day.
The BBC also rejected suggestions the programme removed the word “peacefully” from the clips of Trump’s speech relating to his calls for protests.
“To be clear, we did not do so,” it said.
This stoush with the media is just one of many for Trump, who in recent months has sued the New York Times, berated journalists – including the Australian ABC’s John Lyons – and settled a multimillion-dollar dispute with Paramount.
