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Trump Files $5bn Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC Over Edited Panorama Documentary
US President Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) defamation lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of unlawfully editing his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.
Court documents filed in Florida allege the BBC defamed Trump and violated trade practices laws by broadcasting a misleading edit of his remarks delivered shortly before the US Capitol riot.
The BBC apologised to Trump last month for the edit but rejected his demand for compensation, maintaining there was no “basis for a defamation claim”.
Trump’s legal team accused the broadcaster of defaming him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech”. The BBC has not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit.
Trump said last month that he planned to sue the BBC over the documentary, which aired in the UK ahead of the 2024 US election.
“I think I have to do it,” Trump told reporters of his plans. “They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
In his 6 January 2021 speech, Trump told supporters: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
More than 50 minutes later, he added: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
However, the Panorama programme broadcast a clip presenting Trump as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC later acknowledged the edit had given “the mistaken impression” that Trump had “made a direct call for violent action”, but insisted this did not amount to defamation.
In November, a leaked internal BBC memo criticised how the speech was edited. The fallout reportedly led to the resignations of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.
Before the lawsuit was filed, BBC lawyers issued a detailed response rejecting Trump’s claims, stating there was no malice in the edit and that Trump suffered no harm, noting he was reelected shortly after the documentary aired.
They also argued the BBC neither had the rights to nor distributed the Panorama program on its US channels. While available on BBC iPlayer, access was restricted to UK viewers.
Trump’s lawsuit disputes this, citing agreements between the BBC and other distributors, including a third party media corporation alleged to have held licensing rights outside the UK. Neither the BBC nor the company named has responded to these claims.
The suit further argues that Florida residents may have accessed the programme through VPN services or via the streaming platform BritBox.
“The Panorama Documentary’s publicity, coupled with significant increases in VPN usage in Florida since its debut, establishes the immense likelihood that citizens of Florida accessed the Documentary before the BBC had it removed,” the lawsuit said.
UK political reaction has followed, with Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urging the prime minister to intervene.
“Keir Starmer needs to stand up for the BBC against Trump’s outrageous legal threat and protect licence fee payers from being hit in the pocket,” he said.
