Trump Threatens Lawsuit Against BBC, Claims Speech Caused ‘Harm’

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would likely file a lawsuit against the BBC next week seeking as much as $5 billion, after the broadcaster admitted it had wrongly edited a video of a speech he delivered -- while insisting there was no legal basis for his claim.

 

The British Broadcasting Corporation has been thrust into its most serious crisis in decades after two senior leaders resigned amid accusations of bias, including over the editing of Trump’s remarks from 6 January 2021, the day his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

 

Trump’s legal team had initially set a Friday deadline for the BBC to retract its documentary or face legal action for “no less” than $1 billion. They also demanded an apology and compensation for what they described as “overwhelming reputational and financial harm,” according to a letter seen by Reuters.

 

The BBC, which has conceded that its editing of Trump’s comments amounted to an “error of judgement,” issued a personal apology to the former president on Thursday. However, it said it would not rebroadcast the documentary and rejected the defamation claim.

 

“We’ll sue them for anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he travelled to Florida for the weekend.

 

“I think I have to do that; I mean, they’ve even admitted that they cheated,” he said. “They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”

 

Trump said he had not discussed the issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer -- despite what he described as a solid relationship -- but planned to call him over the weekend. He claimed Starmer had attempted to reach him and was “very embarrassed” by the incident.

The documentary, broadcast on the BBC’s flagship programme Panorama, spliced together three separate clips from Trump’s speech, creating the impression that he was inciting the 6 January riot. His lawyers argued this was “false and defamatory.”

 

‘Beyond Fake -- This is Corrupt’

In an interview with the right-leaning UK channel GB News, Trump said the edit was “impossible to believe” and likened it to election interference.

 

“I made a beautiful statement, and they made it into a not beautiful statement,” he said. “Fake news was a great term, except it’s not strong enough. This is beyond fake, this is corrupt.”

 

He added that the BBC’s apology was insufficient: “When you say it’s unintentional, I guess if it’s unintentional you don’t apologise. They clipped together two parts of the speech that were nearly an hour apart. It’s incredible to depict the idea that I had given this aggressive speech which led to riots. One was making me into a bad guy, and the other was a very calming statement.”

 

BBC Apology, No Plans to Rebroadcast

BBC Chair Samir Shah issued a personal apology on Thursday to the White House and told MPs that the edit was “an error of judgement.”

 

On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the apology was “right and necessary.”

 

The broadcaster reiterated that it had no intention of rebroadcasting the documentary and confirmed it was examining fresh allegations about editing practices, including a separate instance involving its Newsnight programme.

 

Biggest Crisis in Decades

The controversy has escalated into the BBC’s most severe crisis in decades. Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness resigned this week over the fallout, amid accusations of bias and editorial failures.

 

Starmer told parliament on Wednesday that he supported a “strong and independent BBC” but insisted the corporation must “get its house in order.”

 

“Some would rather the BBC didn’t exist. Some of them are sitting up there,” he said, gesturing towards Conservative MPs.

“I’m not one of them. In an age of disinformation, the argument for an impartial British news service is stronger than ever.”

 

The BBC -- founded in 1922 and funded primarily through a compulsory licence fee—now faces scrutiny over whether public money could be used to settle any legal claim.

 

Former media minister John Whittingdale said there would be “real anger” if licence fee revenue were used to pay damages.

 

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