United States President Donald Trump has said he will move forward with a lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of his January 6, 2021 speech in its investigative documentary series, Panorama.
Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump said the lawsuit would seek damages “anywhere between a billion and $5 billion” and is expected to be filed “probably sometime next week.”
The BBC had previously acknowledged that its editing may have wrongly implied Trump directly called for violent action and issued an apology in its ‘Corrections and Clarifications’ section. However, the broadcaster rejected demands for financial compensation.
Trump’s legal team had earlier threatened to sue for $1 billion unless the BBC retracted the clip, apologised, and paid damages, setting a Friday deadline. The broadcaster responded within the timeframe.
Trump also said he intends to raise the matter with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the weekend.
The controversy has already led to the resignation of BBC Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness.
In a letter to Trump’s lawyers, the BBC argued there was no legal basis for a defamation claim. It cited factors including that the episode aired only in the UK, Trump suffered no material harm, and that the clip was part of an hour-long programme featuring multiple pro-Trump voices. The broadcaster also noted that political speech is strongly protected under US defamation law.
Trump described the edit as “unprecedented” and compared it to a CBS interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, for which Paramount Global settled for $16 million in July. He added: “I think I have an obligation to do it. If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again.”