President Trump said Friday that he still intends to pursue a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the BBC over what he described as an intentionally misleading edit of one of his speeches in a Panorama documentary. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “We’ll sue them from $1bn to $5bn, probably sometime next week.”
He added, “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,” ITV reported.
His remarks followed a formal apology issued by the BBC on Thursday in which the broadcaster acknowledged that its edit of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech gave the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
The BBC described the splice as an “error of judgment” but said it would not pay financial compensation.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said, “We have had no further contact from President Trump’s lawyers at this point. Our position remains the same.”
In an interview with GB News’ Bev Turner, Trump said he believes legal action is necessary.
“I think I have an obligation to do it,” he told Turner. “I’m not looking to get into lawsuits, but I think I have an obligation to do it. This was so egregious if you don’t. You don’t stop it from happening again with other people.”
The BBC confirmed that chairman Samir Shah had sent a personal letter to the White House apologizing for the edited clip, and that the corporation’s lawyers had contacted Trump’s legal team.
The spokesperson added, “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
The backlash surrounding the edit led to the resignations of BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness.
Roger Mosey, a former BBC director of news, told ITV News that Trump was “playing politics.”
Mosey said, “Of course, he has a right to be aggrieved by the way the BBC edited the Panorama programme. If he so aggrieved, it’s worth £5 billion? I don’t quite believe that.”
He added, “He didn’t even know he had been libelled in this way until a week ago and somehow it has become the most damaging thing in his career.”
Trump has pursued legal action against media outlets before and previously settled a dispute with CBS News over an interview it aired with former Vice President Kamala Harris on 60 Minutes.
Legal experts say Trump faces significant obstacles to bringing the BBC case in either the UK or the United States.
To prevail, he would need to prove that the edited content was both false and defamatory, that he suffered harm as a result, and that the broadcaster acted with “actual malice.”
The one-year deadline for defamation actions in the UK has already passed because the documentary aired in October 2024.
While Florida law allows a two-year window, a U.S. defamation case would require a higher legal standard.
Experts say Trump would also need to prove that the Panorama documentary was accessible in Florida, which could be difficult because it did not air in the United States.
The situation has raised questions for Starmer, who must balance the BBC’s editorial independence with the political ramifications of a potential legal battle involving a foreign head of state.
The BBC is publicly funded but operates independently of the government, and any intervention by Downing Street could raise concerns about political pressure on the broadcaster.
If Starmer does nothing, the BBC could face a lengthy and expensive legal fight with Trump.
