United States President Donald Trump threatened yesterday to sue the BBC for at least $1 billion for editing a recording of a speech he gave as his supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington in 2021, unless the British public service broadcaster meets a series of demands by Friday, deepening the crisis at the media house.
A spokesman for the US president's legal team said yesterday that the BBC "defamed" Trump by "deliberately and deceptively altering" a recording that was broadcast in October 2024, in order to "influence" last year's presidential election.
The controversy over the edited footage has already led to the resignations of two senior BBC executives.
In a letter from Trump's lawyers, seen by the Financial Times, the BBC is ordered to "retract false, defamatory, derogatory and inflammatory statements" about the president, with a deadline of the end of this week.
The letter also demands a public apology from the US president and compensation for “the harm caused.” If these demands are not met by Friday, it says, Trump “will have no choice but to pursue all legal remedies to compensate for the enormous financial and reputational damage caused to him by the BBC.” The letter specifies that this would include “filing a legal claim for no less than $1.000.000.000 (a billion) dollars in damages.”
The BBC said it would respond to the letter "at the appropriate time."
The threat came after BBC Chairman Samir Shah apologized yesterday for an error in judgment when processing a recording of a speech the US president gave on January 6, 2021, but rejected claims of systemic bias in the media outlet's reporting.
Shah said that the editing of a recording of Trump's speech in a program broadcast just before the November 2024 US presidential election was "misleading" and that the material should have been handled more carefully.
Growing criticism of the BBC's news program led to the resignations of Director General Tim Davey and Executive Director of News Deborah Ternes on Sunday, after an internal report was leaked expressing concerns about the media outlet's reporting.
Last week, the Telegraph published excerpts from a report written earlier this year by former standards adviser Michael Prescott, in which he cited what he claimed were editorial oversights that revealed an institutionalised left-wing bias among staff.
The most serious revelation related to the fact that the Panorama documentary program, broadcast just before the US presidential election in November 2024, combined two parts of Trump's speech so that it appeared as if he was inciting riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The documentary was produced by an independent production company.
The report also criticized the BBC's coverage of the war between Israel and Gaza and of issues concerning transgender people.
Shah said yesterday that the BBC acknowledged that the way Trump's speech was edited "gave the impression of a direct call for violence." "The BBC would like to apologise for this misjudgment," he said in a letter to MPs.
However, while he acknowledged criticism for the way Trump's speech was handled, he rejected claims that the BBC tried to "hide" any of the allegations or failed to respond to perceived problems.
When asked if the allegations of systemic bias were unfounded, Shah replied: “Yes.”
He said there were individual errors and that some cases pointed to deeper problems, but that claims of systemic or institutional bias were not true.
“I worked in the BBC News program,” Shah told the BBC. “I know that the DNA and culture of BBC News is impartiality - the goal is to provide the best and most reliable news we can.”
He told MPs that the BBC was committed to restoring public trust and ensuring that journalism met the highest standards of fairness. “It is absolutely clear that the BBC must set an example of impartiality,” he said.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected claims that the BBC is institutionally biased or corrupt, and stressed that the government supports the media outlet.
“It is clear that mistakes were made in this case, and the Director General and Deborah Ternes have taken responsibility for them,” the spokesman said. “What is important here is that the BBC maintains the high standards for which it is rightly internationally recognised, and that is our primary aim.”
However, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said yesterday that he had spoken to Trump on Friday as the BBC crisis unfolded. He said the US president was “very, very unhappy” about it, adding: “I think it’s very, very damaging.”
The resignations of Davy and Ternes came after the White House called the BBC a "left-wing propaganda machine."
Trump has recently launched several legal actions against various US media outlets. Under US law, public figures like Trump typically find it difficult to win defamation lawsuits because they must prove that the defendants knew - or should have known - that the information they published was false, but published it anyway, Reuters points out.
Over the past year, Paramount and ABC settled and agreed to pay $16 million and $15 million, respectively, to resolve Trump's defamation lawsuits.
One media executive close to the corporation described the current conflict as a reflection of a wider “fight for the soul of the BBC,” adding: “They need much more decisive leadership.”
The BBC's board has also been heavily criticised for its response to the crisis, which has exposed divisions at the top of the organisation and sparked claims of a politically motivated coup against its leadership.
The board, which will decide on the appointment of a new CEO following Davie's resignation, consists of the heads of the corporation's main sectors and five members appointed by the government.
According to three people familiar with the matter, the body failed to reach an agreement on an apology last week, despite efforts by Deborah Ternes to respond to the growing scandal.
BBC supporters, including journalists from The Guardian and The Financial Times, as well as some employees of the media house, believe that this is an organized right-wing campaign aimed at undermining the corporation's reputation, according to public statements.
"This is a crisis created by the political and commercial opponents of the public service and the BBC," Diane Coyle, an economist and former vice-chair of the BBC's former governing body, told Reuters.
Supporters argue that daily leaks of internal memos have increased the pressure, while celebrities, such as former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have further fueled the controversy.
The scandal also comes as the British government prepares to review whether the BBC's subscription funding model is sustainable and whether other options should be considered as part of its contract renewal. The current ten-year contract expires in 2027.
The BBC has long been under intense scrutiny from many national newspapers and critics on social media, who oppose its funding model and perceived liberal orientation.
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