Washington (Parliament Politics Magazine) – US President Donald Trump says he feels an “obligation” to sue the BBC, claiming its edited version of his January 6 speech “defrauded the public.”
As reported by The Guardian, Donald Trump insists he must sue the BBC over the editing of his speech, as the broadcaster faces a Friday deadline to respond to his billion-dollar legal threat.
What did Donald Trump say about suing the BBC over his edited speech?
President Trump has alleged that the BBC “defrauded the public” by editing together separate parts of his January 2021 speech in a Panorama episode, demanding a response by Friday.
The controversy is seen as a major factor behind the unexpected resignations of Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and Deborah Turness, head of BBC News.
The broadcaster has issued an apology for the Panorama edit, saying it
“gave the impression that President Trump called for violence,”
and now faces a legal claim in a Florida court.
President Trump said,
“Trump doubled down on his legal challenge to the BBC. I think I have an obligation to do it, you can’t allow people to do that. I guess I have to. They defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it. This is within one of our great allies, supposedly our great ally.”
He stated,
“That’s a pretty sad event. They actually changed my January 6 speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical. They showed me the results of how they butchered it up. It was very dishonest and the head man quit and a lot of the other people quit.”
How did the BBC’s edit of Trump’s speech spark legal threats and resignations?
The documentary, released before the US election, merged clips from Donald Trump’s January 6 speech, suggesting he told the crowd,
“We’re going to walk to the Capitol and fight like hell.”
Florida’s libel laws and the absence of the Panorama broadcast in the state have led legal experts to doubt the President Trump team’s chances in court.
The BBC must decide whether to engage in a high-profile legal battle, while other US networks sued by Trump settled out of court. Any payout could spark political controversy given its licence fee funding.
Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial committee, raised the matter in a leaked memo before leaving his position in the summer.
The Trump programme has sparked internal BBC anger, as senior editors were questioned over its edits but failed to take corrective action.
Concerns have also been raised over the political tone of Michael Prescott’s memo, which alleges long-standing liberal bias. The BBC said some claims are historical, with action taken on others.
The leaked memo read,
“It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot.”
Why has Reform UK pulled out of the BBC documentary?
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has withdrawn from a BBC documentary on the party following controversy over the broadcaster’s editing of a Donald Trump speech.
The planned documentary, The Rise of Reform, with Laura Kuenssberg as presenter, was being produced by the independent firm October Films.
The company played a role in a Panorama documentary that led to the resignation of two of the BBC’s senior executives.
In an internal memo, Reform UK members were advised to “politely decline to participate” in the January documentary, citing “disinformation” in the Trump programme.
The memo read,
“We want to be clear that October Films have always conducted themselves professionally, and there is no suggestion from our side that they would maliciously misrepresent Reform UK. However, following the Panorama documentary the trust has been lost, and both BBC and the production company will have to do a lot of hard work to regain that trust.”
What did Downing Street say about Trump’s threat to sue the BBC?
Number 10 refused to comment on President Trump’s threat to sue the BBC, saying it is “a matter for the broadcaster.”
A spokesman said,
“It’s clearly not for the government to comment on any ongoing legal matters. Again, it’s not for the government to comment on any ongoing legal matters.”
Downing Street added,
“Our position is clear: the BBC is independent and it’s for the corporation to respond to questions about their editorial decisions and, more broadly, we have a close relationship with the US on shared priorities, including security.”
Who are the owners of the BBC?
The BBC is a public corporation established under a Royal Charter and is not owned by the government or any private individual. It operates independently but is ultimately answerable to Parliament.
The broadcaster’s main funding comes from the public through the television licence fee. It is governed by the BBC Board, which oversees operations and ensures editorial independence.
