Trump says will sue BBC for up to US$5 billion over video edit

US President Donald Trump said on Friday (Nov 14) he would sue the BBC for up to US$5 billion after the British broadcaster apologised for a misleading edit of one of his speeches but said it would not pay damages.

The broadcaster has rejected Trump's legal defamation claim, but the president appears determined not to let the matter rest, even after the departure of top BBC executives and as the controversy threatens to become a strain on ties with London.

"We'll sue them for anywhere between a billion and five billion dollars, probably some time next week. I think I have to do it. They've even admitted that they cheated," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump earlier said he would sue the BBC for US$1 billion, an already enormous sum that represents 13 per cent of the organisation's annual revenue. It is mostly funded by a licence fee paid by the British public.

The broadcaster has been in turmoil since the edited clip from its flagship news program "Panorama" - aired before the 2024 presidential elections - resurfaced last week.

On Monday, the BBC apologised for giving the impression in the documentary that Trump had directly urged "violent action" just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on Jan 6, 2021.

"The people of the UK are very angry about what happened, as you can imagine, because it shows the BBC is fake news," Trump said late on Friday.

He added that he planned to raise the BBC issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has backed the broadcaster's independence while avoiding taking sides against Trump.

"I'm going to call him over the weekend. He actually put a call into me. He's very embarrassed," Trump said.

SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR BBC

Trump's lawyers sent the BBC a letter on Monday accusing the broadcaster of defaming the president and giving it until Friday to apologise and pay compensation.

The BBC said on Thursday that its chairman Samir Shah had sent "a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president's speech".

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."

In Britain, the controversy has reignited a heated debate on the operations and impartiality of public broadcasting, as the organisation has already been shaken in recent years by several scandals.

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.

The firestorm over the video edit has led the BBC director-general and the organisation's top news executive to resign.

The broadcaster has confirmed it is also investigating another edit of Trump's speech from the day of the Capitol riots, which the Telegraph newspaper reported had aired in June 2022 on the BBC's "Newsnight" programme.

In an interview with UK channel GB News broadcast on Friday, Trump again said he had an obligation to pursue legal action.

"This was so egregious," he said of the video edit.

"If you don't do it, you don't stop it from happening again with other people."