The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has issued an apology to former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding an edit in a January 6, 2021 speech clip featured in a Panorama episode. The corporation stated that the edit "unintentionally created the impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action."
Despite the apology, the BBC has rejected Trump's demand for $1 billion (£759 million) in compensation. Legal representatives for Trump had threatened a lawsuit seeking retraction, apology, and damages.
Details of the Edit and Allegations
The Panorama program from 2021 spliced segments of Trump's speech. The BBC acknowledged that the edited clip, which combined "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women" with "And we fight. We fight like hell," gave a "mistaken impression." Trump's full speech included the latter phrase more than 50 minutes after the former. A similar edited clip broadcast on Newsnight in 2022 was also revealed.
Donald Trump, speaking to Fox News, described his speech as "butchered" and asserted that the presentation had "defrauded" viewers.
BBC's Response to Compensation Demands
The BBC confirmed it would not show the 2024 program again. In a letter to President Trump's legal team, the BBC outlined five arguments against the defamation claim:
- The BBC did not distribute the Panorama episode on its US channels and restricted iPlayer access to UK viewers.
- The documentary is argued not to have caused Trump harm, referencing his subsequent re-election.
- The clip's edit was intended to shorten a long speech, not to mislead with malice.
- The 12-second clip was part of an hour-long program that included supportive voices for Trump.
- Opinion on matters of public concern and political speech is heavily protected under US defamation laws.
BBC Chair Samir Shah also sent a personal letter to President Trump expressing regret for the manner in which the video clip was edited, while reiterating strong disagreement with the basis for a defamation claim.
Broader Implications
The incident led to the resignations of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness on Sunday. Culture Secretary Nandy stated confidence in the BBC's handling of the situation and emphasized the corporation's independence from government. Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey had called for Prime Minister to intervene.