BBC apologises to Trump over speech edit, rejects defamation claim
A security guard stands guard outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, Britain, Nov 11, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Hannah McKay)
LONDON: Britain's BBC apologised to Donald Trump on Thursday (Nov 13) for editing a speech to make it look like he had advocated violence, seeking to ward off the US president's threat of legal action, but the broadcaster rejected the basis for a defamation claim.
In a statement, the BBC said its chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to Trump that he and the corporation were "sorry" for the edit, adding that the broadcaster has no plans to rebroadcast the Panorama documentary on any of its platforms.
"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," the BBC said.
The leaking of internal accusations of bias at the BBC, including in the way it edited a 2021 speech by Trump on the day his supporters overran the Capitol, has forced its top two leaders to quit and for Trump to threaten a US$1 billion lawsuit.
That puts the BBC at risk of having to use money paid by its viewers to compensate the US president for an error of its own making, handing more ammunition to critics at a time when growing numbers are cancelling their annual licence fee payment.
Trump's lawyers had told the BBC to withdraw the Panorama programme, apologise to the president and appropriately compensate him for the harm caused, or face a lawsuit seeking damages of at least US$1 billion.
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 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 Trump's speech were edited together to make it appear as if he were 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.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government have been performing a tightrope act, backing the broadcaster's independence while avoiding taking sides against Trump.
