BBC apologises to Donald Trump as it faces a fresh claim of a misleading edit
The BBC’s chairman has apologised to Donald Trump over a misleading speech edit but rejected his billion-dollar lawsuit threat as the broadcaster is accused of another misleading edit.
The BBC said that its chairman had sent a letter to Donald Trump apologising for a misleading edit of one ofhis speeches, but rejected that it was grounds for a defamation lawsuit.
The comments came after Britain’s embattled public broadcaster said earlier that it was investigating a possible second instance in which a Trump speech was edited in a misleading way.
On Monday, the BBC apologised for giving the impression in a documentary aired last year that Mr Trump had directly urged “violent action” just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
The video edit has triggered a firestorm, leading the BBC director-general and the organisation’s top news executive to resign on Sunday, and drawing a threat from President Trump’s lawyers to sue for $US1 billion.
BBC Chair Samir Shah has “sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporationare sorry for the edit of the president’s speech”, the broadcaster said in a statement.
However, it 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.”
It said BBC lawyers had written to Mr Trump’s legal team in response.
As controversy continued to swirl around the “Panorama” documentary on Trump aired in October 2024, the BBC said it was now probing another edit of mR Trump’s speech from the day of the Capital riots.
The Telegraph newspaper said the BBC also aired another report, in June 2022 on its “Newsnight” programme, in which phrases spoken at different points in mR Trump’s speech were edited together to make it appear as if hewere urging supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “This matter has been brought to our attention and we are now looking into it.”
The editing row comes at a politically sensitive time for the BBC, which is due to renegotiate the Royal Charter that outlines the corporation’s governance. Its current charter will end in 2027.
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‘OBLIGATED TO SUE’
President Trump previously said that he feels he is “obligated” to file a defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
“I think I have an obligation to do it,” President Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday when asked whether he would file a lawsuit.
The BBC edit, aired in a Panorama documentary a week before the 2024 presidential election, put together snippets of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021.
The edited clip made it appear as if Mr Trump told the crowd, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
But the comments were taken from sections of the speech nearly an hour apart, and omitted a section in which Mr Trump asked his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The US President’s lawyers wrote a letter to the BBC, giving it until Friday to “appropriately compensate” the president for “harm caused” by the edit, or face a billion dollar lawsuit for damages.
The controversy also led to the shock resignations of the BBC’s director-general and head of news amid accusations of systemic bias.
BBC EDITORS DID NOT KNOW ABOUT CHANGES
But apparently BBC editors did not know that the documentary had edited the Trump speech.
Trump: A Second Chance? was produced by a BBC in-house producer-director and BBC visual editor together with October Films.
The pair created the film, making the decision to splice together the two sections of the speech in good faith, The Australian reports.
A source close to the program said October Films remained unaware about the doctored edit until reports surfaced last week, the outlet reports.
“There was no discussion, no indication at all that it had been spliced together from two different sections,” the source said.
“Had they known then they would have insisted that it be changed or the gap clearly been flagged.”
The BBC’s former chief Tim Davie has admitted the broadcaster had made “some mistakes that have cost us” and conceded that times were “difficult”.
He made the comments when he addressed staff as he prepared for his departure from the network, the BBC reported.
Mr Davie also issued a rallying cry after Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $US1 billion ($A1.5bn) in a fight that has renewed pressure on a British organisation that is regularly caught up in culture wars and political frays.
“I see the free press under pressure, I see the weaponisation. I think we’ve got to fight for our journalism,” ex-director general Davie reportedly told staff, two days after he and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned over the furore.
On Monday, the BBC apologised for giving the impression that Mr Trump had directly urged “violent action” just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters in 2021 in a documentary that aired in October last year.
Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote a letter to the BBC, giving it until Friday to “appropriately compensate” the president for “harm caused” by the edit, or face a billion dollar lawsuit for damages.
In his address to staff, Mr Davie vowed the network would continue to flourish.
“We will thrive and this narrative will not just be given by our enemies: It’s our narrative,” according to UK media.
The BBC, which is funded by the British public, has faced growing accusations of bias from different ideological camps.
The latest crisis, which spiralled after the UK Telegraph last week leaked a memo by former BBC adviser Michael Prescott, has also laid bare some of the divisions within the BBC and its board.
‘DEFAMATORY, MALICIOUS’: TRUMP’S ALLEGATIONS
Mr Trump threatened the BBC with a $US1 ($A1.5bn) billion lawsuit over the “defamatory, malicious” editing of a speech he gave just before the 2021 US Capitol riots.
President Trump’s lawyers gave the British broadcaster a deadline of Friday to fully retract the documentary containing the edit, apologise and “appropriately compensate” the president “for the harm caused.”
If the BBC fails to comply “President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights … including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages,” it said.
“The BBC is on notice. PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY.”
The director general of the BBC announced his resignation on Sunday over the row, after accusations that a documentary by its flagship Panorama program last year had edited a speech by Mr Trump in a misleading way.
The BBC said earlier Monday that it would “review” the letter from Trump’s legal team. It also issued a public apology for the editing.
Mr Trump’s supporters rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a bid to overturn the certification of his 2020 US presidential election defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.
But the letter from his legal team said that the BBC edit gave a “false, defamatory, malicious, disparaging, and inflammatory” impression of what he said in his speech outside the White House.
“Due to their salacious nature, the fabricated statements that were aired by the BBC have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums, which have reached tens of millions of people worldwide,” the letter said.
“Consequently, the BBC has caused President Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team confirmed that a letter had been sent to the BBC but did not give further details.
“The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the presidential election,” the spokesman said in a statement to AFP.
“President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”
Mr Trump has been accused of launching a number of previous lawsuits to stifle US media, including against broadcaster ABC and CBS, and the New York Times.
‘IMPARTIAL BRITISH NEWS’: STARMER CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer supports a “strong, independent BBC”, his official spokesman said as the broadcaster reeled from the resignation of two chiefs.
“In an age of disinformation, the argument for a robust, impartial British news service is stronger than ever,” the spokesman told reporters, adding it was important that errors are corrected “quickly” to maintain trust.
Sir Keir’s comments come as far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told a press conference the BBC had been “institutionally biased for decades” and revealed he had discussed the matter with his friend President Trump.
“I actually spoke to the president on Friday. He just said to me: ‘Is this how you treat your best ally?’” Mr Farage said.
“It’s quite a powerful comment.”
‘ERROR OF JUDGMENT’: BBC APOLOGISES FOR TRUMP EDIT
BBC chair Samir Shah said he wished to “apologise for that error of judgment” over the editing of the speech made by Mr Trump.
Dr Shah wrote a letter to the British government’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee where he revealed there have been more than 500 complaints about the matter since it came to light.
“We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action,” Dr Shah said of the segment which made it look as if President Trump had incited the US Capitol riots.
‘DISHONEST PEOPLE’: TRUMP SLAMS BBC SEGMENT
Mr Trump reacted after the shock resignations of the BBC’s director-general and head of news amid accusations of systemic bias, which included the doctoring of a speech by the US President.
On Sunday (Monday AEDT) the UK’s public service broadcaster announced that director general Tim Davie and news chief executive officer Deborah Turness had both resigned.
Mr Trump posted a message on social media in which he celebrated Mr Davie’s resignation.
“The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught “doctoring” my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th,” he posted on Truth Social.
He continued: “Thank you to the Telegraph for exposing these corrupt ‘journalists’. These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election.
“On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”
It came after damning information revealed in a leaked 19-page dossier by the UK Telegraph last week showed that the broadcaster had doctored a clip of President Trump in its current affairs Panorama program that aired one week before last year’s US election.
In the program, clips were mashed together from a speech President Trump gave on January 6, 2021 before crowds stormed the Capitol and the program was accused of making it appear like the US President encouraged the riots.
Mr Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt last week said the BBC was “100 per cent fake news” and a “propaganda machine “after allegations of bias against President Trump emerged.
Shot: Chaser: pic.twitter.com/n0U08PnUJb
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) November 9, 2025
BBC BOSSES RESIGN OVER TRUMP COVERAGE
In a lengthy statement announcing his resignation, Mr Davie said: “I wanted to let you know that I have decided to leave the BBC after 20 years.
“This is entirely my decision, and I remain very thankful to the Chair and Board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, including during recent days.
“I am working through exact timings with the Board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months”.
Mr Davie conceded the BBC is “not perfect and said, “we must always be open, transparent and accountable.
“While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.
“Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility.”
Less than an hour after the news broke, Ms Leavitt took to X to relish in the moment.
She posted two screenshots side-by-side with the words “shot” followed by “chaser”.
One screenshot showed a headline “Trump goes to war with ‘fake news’ BBC”, the other showed the news of the pair of resignations.
Mr Davie has been at the BBC for more than 20 years and led the broadcaster since 2020.
Ms Turness has been the news boss since 2022.
The BBC licence fee is compulsory in the UK for households – with some exceptions – and it costs £174.50 ($A354) annually.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Brits – in his weekend newspaper column – not to pay the fee until the broadcaster explained reasons for bias.
The BBC is required to be impartial as a public broadcaster.
I want to thank Tim Davie for his service to public broadcasting over many years.
— Lisa Nandy MP (@lisanandy) November 9, 2025
He has led the BBC through a period of significant change and helped the organisation to grip the challenges it has faced in recent years.
The UK’s Culture secretary Lisa Nandy and also posted on X after the two resignations: “The BBC is one of our most important national institutions. Every day, it tells the story of who we are – the people, places and communities that make up life across the UK.
“Now more than ever, the need for trusted news and high quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life, and our place in the world”.
The BBC also came under fire earlier in the year after airing a documentary about the Israel-Hamas war called ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ and it was narrated by the son of a member of the Hamas ministry.
The media regulator Ofcom determined that the documentary was “materially misleading” and the BBC was forced to apologise and remove the program from its iPlayer.
– with AFP
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Originally published as BBC apologises to Donald Trump as it faces a fresh claim of a misleading edit