• British broadcaster issues apology for misleadingly editing January 6 speech but rejects basis for $1 billion defamation claim
• BBC Chair Samir Shah sends personal letter to White House expressing regret for error of judgment in documentary
• Network will not rebroadcast Panorama program while maintaining there is no basis for financial damages to president

LONDON (TDR) — The BBC apologized Thursday to President Donald Trump over a misleadingly edited speech from January 6, 2021, but rejected his demands for compensation, maintaining the broadcaster strongly disagrees there is a basis for a defamation claim. The apology comes after the president’s legal team threatened a $1 billion lawsuit over the documentary edit that sparked resignations of top BBC executives last weekend.

Documentary edit created misleading impression

The controversy centers on a 2024 Panorama documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” which aired days before the U.S. presidential election. The program spliced together sections of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech that came nearly an hour apart, creating what the BBC acknowledged was an unintentionally misleading impression that Trump made a direct call for violent action.

In the edited clip, Trump appears to say: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” The actual speech included a section where Trump told supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” which was omitted from the documentary. The “fight like hell” portion came more than 50 minutes later in his address.

“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,” a BBC spokesperson said.

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The BBC also confirmed it was investigating a second similar edit of the same speech broadcast on Newsnight in 2022.

Executive resignations deepen crisis

BBC Director-General Tim Davie and news CEO Deborah Turness both resigned Sunday following the scandal’s escalation. Davie said he had to take “ultimate responsibility” for mistakes made under his leadership, while Turness stated the controversy was causing damage to the institution she loved.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the BBC “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine” in response to the editing controversy. Trump posted on Truth Social celebrating the resignations, claiming top BBC officials were “quitting/FIRED” after being caught “doctoring” his “very good (PERFECT!) speech.”

Legal precedent looms over dispute

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The settlement comes after ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s presidential foundation in December 2024 to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos‘ inaccurate claim that Trump had been “found liable for rape” regarding the E. Jean Carroll civil case. A jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse but did not find Carroll proved rape under New York law.

Legal experts suggest the BBC could demonstrate Trump wasn’t harmed by the edit since he was ultimately elected president in 2024. However, the publicly funded broadcaster faces growing criticism from viewers over using license fee money for potential legal settlements.

Trump’s lawyers demanded the BBC withdraw the program, apologize, and appropriately compensate him for harm caused or face a lawsuit seeking at least $1 billion in damages. The BBC said it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary on any of its platforms.

Should media organizations face financial consequences for editing errors that create misleading impressions about public figures?

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