Former President Donald Trump has expressed a strong commitment to pursuing legal action against the BBC, claiming he feels a significant “obligation” to challenge the broadcaster. This comes as a deadline approaches for the BBC to respond to his billion-dollar legal threat stemming from a controversial edit of one of his speeches. Trump alleges that the BBC has “defrauded the public” through an episode of Panorama aired last year, which he contends unfairly manipulated his words.
In the Panorama episode broadcast just a week prior to the US election, the BBC spliced together two segments of Trump’s speech delivered on January 6, 2021. The edited footage led viewers to believe that Trump incited violence by stating, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.” This controversial presentation misrepresented the original context of his remarks, which were nearly an hour apart.
The fallout from this incident has been significant, contributing to the unexpected resignation of Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and Deborah Turness, head of BBC News. The BBC has already issued an apology, acknowledging that the edit “gave the impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.” This public admission has placed the corporation in a precarious position as it contemplates its response to Trump’s legal threats, which were filed in a Florida court.
During an interview with Fox News, Trump reaffirmed his intention to challenge the BBC legally. “I think I have an obligation to do it; you can’t allow people to do that,” he stated. He emphasized that the corporation’s actions were dishonest, claiming, “They defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it.” Trump described his original January 6 speech as “a beautiful speech” that was mischaracterized by the BBC’s editing.
Legal experts have raised questions about the feasibility of Trump’s legal claims, citing Florida’s liberal libel laws and the fact that the Panorama episode was not aired within the state. This raises concerns for the BBC, which must decide whether to engage in a high-profile legal battle, especially as other US-based broadcasters have opted to settle out of court when faced with similar lawsuits from Trump. Any settlement could prove politically contentious for the BBC, which relies on funding from the licence fee.
The controversy surrounding the Trump program has sparked internal discontent within the BBC. A memo from Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC), highlighted criticisms of the corporation, particularly concerning allegations of liberal bias over several years. Prescott has stated that his memo was not politically motivated, yet it has ignited debates regarding the BBC's editorial integrity.
Despite the backlash, the BBC has indicated that some of the issues raised in Prescott's memo are historically rooted, while actions have already been taken regarding other matters. The corporation now faces a challenging dilemma as it navigates through this legal and public relations crisis.