President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., on his way back to the White House. (AP)
The BBC says it will challenge any lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump, insisting there is “no basis” for his defamation claim over an edited version of one of his past speeches.
Trump, said on Friday he was likely to sue the broadcaster for between $1 billion and $5 billion. He alleges that the BBC created the impression he had encouraged violence on 6 January 2021 by splicing together parts of his remarks for a documentary.
BBC chair Samir Shah wrote to Trump last week to apologise for the edit, Reuters reported. However, the BBC says it does not accept that the error amounts to defamation.
In an email to staff on Monday, Shah said there was “speculation” about possible legal action and any related costs. “I want to be very clear with you our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this,” he said, according to Reuters.
The documentary was made by an external producer and aired in Britain ahead of the November 2024 US election. It showed Trump telling supporters “we’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and “fight like hell”. Those lines came from different parts of his original speech. In reality, Trump had said his supporters would “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women”.
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The edit came to light after the Daily Telegraph published a leaked internal BBC report. The report, written by an independent adviser, also criticised other parts of the BBC’s news output and led to the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.
Trump’s lawyers say the edit caused “overwhelming reputational and financial harm”, according to a letter seen by Reuters. They plan to sue in Florida because the one-year deadline for filing a case in Britain has passed.
Legal experts told Reuters that Trump faces a higher bar for success in the United States, where free speech protections are stronger. The BBC is expected to argue that the programme did not air in the US and was not available on its streaming platforms there, meaning Florida voters could not have seen it. It is also likely to say the edit was not made with malice and that Trump went on to win the election.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., on his way back to the White House. (AP) 
