Former BBC Director General Tony Hall says the corporation must not pay Donald Trump any compensation over the misleading Panorama edit of his Jan. 6 speech, despite the U.S. president threatening a lawsuit of up to $5 billion.
Eko Hot News reports that Hall, speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, insisted that licence fee payers’ money should not be used to settle such claims, calling the proposed payout “inappropriate.” While he acknowledged the edit was a “serious error,” he stressed that it should have been addressed much earlier and warned that the broader debate was overshadowing the impartial work of BBC journalists.
The controversy stems from a Panorama episode about the 2021 Capitol riot, which featured an edited version of Trump’s speech that altered the order of his remarks. The fallout led to the resignation of BBC Director General Tim Davie and News Chief Deborah Turness.
Fresh allegations emerged last week after reports claimed that Newsnight had broadcast a similar misleading edit in 2022. The BBC confirmed it is reviewing the matter, reiterating its commitment to high editorial standards.
Though the broadcaster issued a formal apology to Trump and agreed to permanently withdraw the episode, it maintains there is no legal basis for a defamation suit. Trump, however, declared aboard Air Force One that he intends to sue “for between a billion and $5bn.”
BBC Chair Samir Shah also delivered a personal apology to the White House, calling the edit “an error of judgment,” while UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said the apology was “right and necessary.”
The internal crisis at the BBC intensified after a leaked memo revealed the misleading edit, which suggested Trump urged supporters to “fight like hell” immediately—when the full speech shows the phrase appeared much later.
Speaking to GB News, Trump condemned the edit as “impossible to believe,” accusing the BBC of corruption and calling the alteration “beyond fake.”
