US President Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit against the BBC, alleging defamation over the editing of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary, according to court documents lodged in Florida. He also claims the broadcaster violated a trade practices law. The BBC apologised last month for the edit but rejected Trump's demands for compensation, insisting there was no "basis for a defamation claim". The corporation has not yet responded to the newly filed lawsuit.
Trump's legal team accused the BBC of "intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring the speech". Trump had previously signalled his intention to sue, telling reporters: "I think I have to do it. They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth."
In his speech on 6 January 2021, before the riot at US Capitol, Trump told supporters: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women." More than 50 minutes later, he added, "And we fight. We fight like hell."
The Panorama programme edited the remarks into a single clip in which Trump appeared 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 BBC acknowledged the edit gave "the mistaken impression" that Trump had "made a direct call for violent action," but maintained this did not amount to defamation.
The controversy intensified in November after a leaked internal BBC memo criticised the editing of the speech, prompting the resignation of director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness. Before the lawsuit was filed, BBC lawyers argued there was no malice, that Trump suffered no harm as he was re-elected after the programme aired, and that the documentary was not distributed on the BBC's US channels.
Trump's lawsuit disputes those claims, citing alleged third-party licensing agreements that may have allowed the documentary to be shown outside the UK. It also argues that viewers in Florida could have accessed that program via VPNs or the streaming service BritBox, stating that "significant increases in VPN usage in Florida" made it highly likely residents viewed the documentary.
The legal action has drawn political reaction in the UK, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey calling on the prime minister to intervene. “Keir Starmer needs to stand up for the BBC against Trump’s outrageous legal threat and protect licence fee payers from being hit in the pocket,” he said.
