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Former US President Donald Trump has initiated a $5 billion (£3.7 billion) lawsuit against the BBC, targeting their portrayal of his January 6, 2021, speech in a Panorama documentary. The legal action, filed in Florida, alleges defamation and violation of trade practices laws by the British broadcaster.
The controversy stems from an edited version of Trump’s speech that aired as part of the Panorama programme ahead of the 2024 US election. Trump and his legal team argue that the BBC deliberately manipulated his words to suggest he called for violent action during the Capitol riot. Specifically, the lawsuit points out that the BBC combined parts of his speech, making it appear as if Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell,” a phrasing that was not present in the original speech. Trump himself said of his plans to sue, “I think I have to do it. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
The BBC has admitted that the edit created a misleading impression but maintains it did not amount to defamation. Despite apologizing to Trump last month, the broadcaster refused to offer compensation and denied any legal basis for the claim. Prior to the lawsuit, the BBC countered by stating there was no malicious intent behind the edit and argued that Trump’s reputation was not harmed since he was re-elected after the documentary aired. Furthermore, they clarified that the documentary was not distributed on their US channels and was only accessible through BBC iPlayer within the UK. However, Trump’s suit challenges this point, citing licensing agreements with other distributors and suggesting that Florida residents may have viewed the documentary via VPN or streaming service BritBox.
This dispute also has political repercussions in the UK. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has urged the British Prime Minister to intervene, labeling Trump’s lawsuit as “unacceptable.” He called on Labour leader Keir Starmer to defend the BBC against what he described as an “outrageous legal threat” that could impact UK licence fee payers financially. Meanwhile, internal fallout at the BBC over the editing controversy resulted in the resignations of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, following a leaked memo critical of the programme’s production decisions
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