Trump Threatens $1 Billion Lawsuit Against BBC Over Edited Speech, Broadcaster Admits "Error of Judgment"

London/Washington D.C. - Former U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its alleged doctored editing of a 2021 speech, a move that has plunged the broadcaster into crisis and led to the resignation of its top news executives.

Trump's lawyers sent a letter to the BBC on Sunday demanding a retraction of its documentary by Friday, or face a lawsuit seeking 'no less' than $1 billion. The lawyers contend that the BBC's flagship Panorama program spliced together two separate excerpts of a Trump speech delivered on the day his supporters overran the U.S. Capitol, creating a false and defamatory impression that he was inciting the riot.

The revelation, stemming from a leaked internal report, has sent shockwaves through the BBC. On Monday, the broadcaster's director-general, Tim Davie, and chief executive of news, Deborah Turness, both resigned. BBC Chair Samir Shah issued an apology for the editing of the footage, admitting it was an, "error of judgment", that gave the impression of a direct call for violence.

"The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgment", Shah stated in a letter to lawmakers, acknowledging that the way the speech was edited created the impression of a direct incitement.

The documentary in question, which was broadcast shortly before the November 2024 U.S. presidential election, is no longer available on the BBC's iPlayer video-on-demand service.

Trump's legal team cited Florida defamation law, arguing that the BBC violated it by deliberately omitting some facts and deceptively juxtaposing others to create a false narrative. The former president's residence in Florida suggests a potential venue for the lawsuit.

While Shah accepted criticism regarding the Trump speech edit, he pushed back against broader allegations of systemic bias within the BBC's news reporting, explicitly stating, "yes", when asked if claims of systemic bias were wrong. He also rejected suggestions that the BBC had attempted to bury any allegations or failed to address internal problems.

The crisis was ignited by the leak of an internal report that not only raised concerns about the edit of the Trump speech but also included criticism of the BBC's coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and transgender issues.

The events of January 6, 2021, saw Trump supporters storm the Capitol building as Congress was in the process of certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential election.

Legal experts note that defamation cases brought by public figures in the U.S. face a high bar, requiring proof that the defendant knew or should have known the information was false when publishing it. In England and Wales, claimants must demonstrate that the publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to their reputation.

This latest legal threat follows similar actions by Trump against several U.S. media companies, including CBS and ABC News, which reportedly resulted in settlements. The BBC is currently considering how to respond to the former president's legal ultimatum.