Trump Files $5bn Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC Over Panorama Speech Edit

Former US President Donald Trump has filed a $5 billion (£3.7 billion) defamation lawsuit against the BBC over the editing of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary. The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, accuses the broadcaster of doctoring his words to suggest he encouraged violent action during the Capitol riots.

The BBC issued an apology to Trump last month, acknowledging that the edit gave “the mistaken impression” he had called for violence. However, the broadcaster rejected his demand for compensation, maintaining there was no legal basis for a defamation claim.

Trump’s legal team alleges the BBC acted “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” in altering his speech. The Panorama programme showed Trump saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell,” combining two separate statements from his original address.

A leaked internal BBC memo earlier criticised the edit, which contributed to the resignations of Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness.

The BBC had previously argued that there was no malice in the edit, Trump was not harmed by the programme, and the documentary was not officially distributed in the US, being limited to UK viewers on iPlayer. Trump’s lawsuit claims that some Floridians may have accessed it through VPNs or the streaming service BritBox, and cites agreements between the BBC and third-party distributors outside the UK.

The case has sparked political reactions in the UK, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to support the BBC and protect licence fee payers.

Trump had first announced plans to sue the BBC after the documentary aired ahead of the 2024 US election, claiming the edit “cheated” and misrepresented his words.