 "BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for ‘error of judgment’ over Trump speech edit following top resignations. Image: Agencies")
Britain’s media giant BBC has vowed to vigorously resist any legal action by US President Donald Trump, asserting there is “no basis for a defamation case,” its chair Samir Shah said on Monday.
Trump has threatened to sue the broadcaster for between $1 billion and $5 billion over its editing of one of his speeches.
The move follows Trump’s confirmation on Saturday that he intends to take legal action against the BBC over its Panorama programme, despite the broadcaster having issued an apology.
The basis of Trump’s complaint
Trump claimed on Friday that he was likely to sue for up to $5 billion, arguing that the BBC spliced together separate excerpts of his January 6, 2021 speech—when his supporters stormed the Capitol—to create the impression he had incited violence.
The disputed documentary, produced by a third party, aired in Britain before the November 2024 US election. It showed Trump telling supporters, “we’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and “we fight like hell,” comments made in a different part of the speech, where he had actually said supporters would “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
BBC apologises but stands firm
BBC chair Samir Shah sent a letter to Trump apologising for the edit but insisted there was no legal basis for a defamation claim. He told staff in an internal email:
“In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public. I want to be very clear with you — our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.”
The edit surfaced after the Daily Telegraph published a leaked internal BBC report, which also included broader criticism of the corporation, citing alleged anti-Israel bias at BBC Arabic and lack of balance in coverage of trans issues. The report ultimately led to the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.
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View AllTrump claims reputational and financial harm
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the edit caused him “overwhelming reputational and financial harm,” according to a letter seen by Reuters. They plan to file the suit in Florida, where the one-year defamation filing limit in Britain does not apply.
Legal experts note that Trump will face a higher threshold in the US due to constitutional free speech protections. The BBC is expected to argue that the programme was not broadcast or available on its US streaming services, meaning Floridian voters could not have seen it. It may also challenge claims of reputational harm, noting that Trump went on to win the election and that the edit was not made with malice.
Trump promises action
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump said, “We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion (£792m) and five billion dollars (£3.79bn), probably sometime next week. We have to do it, they’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have not done that. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”