BBC boss says Trump has ‘no basis’ for legal action and vows to 'fight'

The BBC apologised last week for a misleading edit of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech on a Panorama documentary. Credit: PA/ AP

BBC chair Samir Shah has said Donald Trump has “no basis for a defamation case” and that they are “determined to fight” after the US president threatened to sue the corporation.

It comes after Trump said on Saturday he plans to sue the BBC over the editing of his January 6, 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary, and will seek $1bn–$5bn (£758,600-£3.79bn) in damages.

He is expected to take legal action this week.

In an email to staff seen by ITV News, Shah said: "There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements.

"In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public.

"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."

The dispute stems from a Panorama episode titled Trump: A Second Chance?, broadcast just days before the 2024 US election.

The third-party production company behind the film spliced together three quotes from two parts of Trump’s 2021 speech, making them appear as a single line in which he urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell".

In his January 6 2021 speech, Trump said: "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."

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In the Panorama programme, the clip made it appear like he said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

Other parts cut out were a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. Trump’s demand is that he be compensated for “overwhelming financial and reputational harm".

The BBC apologised on Thursday and said the splicing of the speech was an “error of judgment” but has refused to pay financial compensation.

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