Former President Donald Trump plans to sue the BBC for up to $5B over an edited January 6 speech featured in the Panorama documentary series.
Eko Hot News reports that Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that the lawsuit could be filed as early as next week. He also said he plans to discuss the issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the weekend.
The BBC has admitted that the edit gave “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,” but insists it was unintentional. A spokesperson added that the network has “no plans” to rebroadcast the documentary and strongly disagrees that there is a valid defamation claim. Critics say the Panorama edit omitted Trump’s call for supporters to protest “peacefully” and stitched together statements made nearly an hour apart.
The controversy over the BBC documentary has already led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and Director-General Tim Davie. Turness defended the network’s journalists, saying, “Mistakes are made, but BBC News is not institutionally biased,” and added that she stands by their reporting.
