BBC apologises to Trump over misleading edit, but says there is no basis for his defamation claim

The BBC has apologised to US President Donald Trump for a misleadingly edited speech featured in a Panorama episode, but rejected his demand for compensation, saying there is no basis for a defamation claim.

In a statement, the broadcaster said its chair, Samir Shah, had sent a personal letter to the White House making clear that he and the corporation were “sorry” for the edit.

“We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,” the BBC said in a retraction statement.

The BBC added that it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary on any of its platforms.

“While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim,” the corporation said.

TRUMP YET TO FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST BBC

US President Donald Trump has not yet filed a lawsuit against the BBC, his legal team said on Thursday, pushing back against an earlier claim made by the White House.

Trump’s lawyers clarified that no case has been submitted so far over the BBC’s editing of a 2021 speech he delivered on the day his supporters stormed the Capitol. Their statement followed a letter Trump sent to the broadcaster on Sunday, threatening legal action and demanding an apology and compensation. The BBC has called the edit an “error of judgment.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump’s outside legal counsel had already filed the lawsuit, but the White House did not respond to further questions seeking confirmation.

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the BBC has been given a deadline of Friday, November 14 to respond to the letter. They added that Trump’s lawyers still reserve the right to file the lawsuit earlier if they choose.

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