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Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC, objecting to the editing of a speech he made that was featured in a Panorama documentary.
His legal representatives have given the BBC a deadline of November 14 to issue a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary, or face a lawsuit seeking $1 billion (£760 million).
A leaked internal BBC memo indicated that the program misled viewers by splicing together two sections of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech. This editing allegedly created the impression that he was explicitly urging supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol following his election defeat.
The BBC’s outgoing news CEO, Deborah Turness, maintained that the corporation was not “institutionally biased,” following her resignation along with director general Tim Davie.
Their resignations, announced on Sunday, followed increased scrutiny after The Telegraph published a memo last week. The memo was authored by Michael Prescott, a former independent external advisor to the broadcaster’s editorial standards committee.
The memo alleges issues within the BBC’s coverage of Gaza, particularly by BBC Arabic, and points to anti-Trump and anti-Israel bias, as well as one-sided transgender reporting, among other “troubling matters.”
It also drew attention to the Panorama edit, which originally aired in October 2024.
On Monday, BBC chair Samir Shah acknowledged that an “error of judgement” had been made regarding the documentary. He conceded that the edited speech gave the impression of a “direct call for action” and stated the BBC would like to apologize.
However, in response to a letter from the Culture Media and Sport Committee, Shah asserted that it was “simply not true” that the memo had uncovered issues the BBC had “sought to bury.” He also refuted the suggestion that the BBC had taken no action to address the concerns raised in the memo.
Trump’s letter, received by the BBC on Sunday, demands an apology and seeks “appropriate compensation” from the corporation.
It accuses the BBC of making “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements” about him.
Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, also accused the BBC of defamation under Florida law.
In his letter to the parliamentary committee, Shah stated that the BBC had received over 500 complaints since the memo’s publication.
He noted that the Panorama edit had been discussed by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee in January and May of this year as part of a broader review of the corporation’s U.S. election coverage.
Prescott and some committee members voiced concerns about it at that time, he added.
Shah further stated that he “also heard from BBC News that the purpose of editing the clip was to convey the message of the speech.”
This was intended to allow Panorama’s audience to “better understand how it had been received by President Trump’s supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time.”
The matter was not pursued further “given it had not attracted significant audience feedback and had been transmitted before the US election,” he explained.
He added: “With hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action.”
In Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech, he said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
In the Panorama program, he was shown saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The two sections that were spliced together were originally more than 50 minutes apart.
Davie stated on Sunday that the “current debate” surrounding the corporation was not the sole reason for his decision to step down, but it “understandably contributed” to it.
“Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
Turness, who has overseen news and current affairs programming since 2022, stated on Monday in her first public comments since announcing her departure that the corporation was “not institutionally biased.”
“Mistakes are made,” but the BBC’s journalists are “hardworking people who strive for impartiality,” she told reporters outside the broadcaster’s London headquarters.
A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said the prime minister did not believe the BBC was “institutionally biased”.
No 10 also denied the BBC was “corrupt” – a word Trump used to describe some of its journalists.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said there had been “serious questions to answer for a long time” within the BBC and said the documentary incident was a “real problem”.
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said Trump wants to “destroy the BBC and take our money”, and accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of “egging him on”.
Farage said he spoke with Trump on Friday, telling a London press conference: “He just said to me: ‘Is this how you treat your best ally?'”.
Prescott had also expressed concerns about a lack of action to address what he described as “systemic problems” of bias in BBC Arabic’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.
He also raised concerns about the broadcaster’s coverage of trans issues, suggesting it was effectively “censored” by specialist LGBT reporters who promoted a pro-trans agenda.
Shah’s letter noted these issues had been discussed by the editorial standards committee, including concerns regarding BBC Arabic.
He said that a review of sex and gender identity coverage noted “much of the coverage met the BBC’s standards of impartiality and accuracy.”
He said the committee “accepts that there are occasions when the BBC gets things wrong” and takes action when necessary, including disciplinary measures, updating guidelines and issuing corrections.
“Mr Prescott may have judged that these individual actions were not sufficient.
“That is his opinion – and it is of course for him to form that judgement. However, it is not true to say that concerns have been ignored or action not taken.”
In an interview with the BBC’s culture editor Katie Razzall, Shah insisted it was “simply not true” the organisation has done nothing to tackle problems, citing action taken at the BBC Arabic service and long form journalism unit.
He also defended the BBC against allegations of having “anti-Israel” bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.
He said various issues raised by Prescott were being taken seriously and that included “individual mistakes and underlying problems”, adding that action is and had been taken on both – but rejected claims of systemic bias.
The US president has a long history of launching, or threatening, legal action against media outlets, with various outcomes.
In July, the BBC’s US partner CBS News and its parent company Paramount settled for $16 million (£13.5m) after legal action by Trump, who alleged deceptive editing of an interview with then vice-president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.
The New York Times, CNN and the Des Moines Register have also faced legal action from Trump.
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