Trump says he has ‘obligation’ to sue BBC over speech edit

US President Donald Trump said he was “obligated” to sue the BBC over the way part of his speech was edited in a Panorama documentary.

Speaking to Fox News, he said his speech on January 6, 2021 had been “slaughtered” and the way it was presented had “deceived” viewers.

This is the first time Trump has spoken publicly about the matter since his lawyers wrote to the BBC and said he would file a lawsuit seeking $1 billion (£759 million) in damages unless the company retracted the matter, apologized and compensated him.

A BBC spokesman said: “We are reviewing the letter and will respond directly in due course.”

BBC chief Samir Shah had previously apologized for an “error in judgement” over the amendment.

During an appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle show, the president was asked if he would go forward with the lawsuit, to which he replied, “Well, I guess I should do it, you know, why not, because they defrauded the public, and they admitted it.”

Trump continued: “They actually changed my speech on January 6, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and made it seem extreme.

“They really changed it. What they did was pretty unbelievable.”

Asked again whether he would pursue legal action, he said: “Well, I think I have an obligation to do that, because you can’t have people, and you can’t let them do that.”

The Fox News interview was recorded on Monday, although the section about the BBC was not published by Fox News until late Tuesday evening in the United States.

The BBC received the letter from Trump’s lawyers on Sunday. The resolution demands a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary, an apology, and that the BBC “adequately compensate President Trump for the harm he has caused.”

The deadline is 22:00 GMT (17:00 EST) on Friday for the company to respond.

The BBC said it would respond in due course.

BBC News has contacted the BBC for comment on the president’s recent comments.

If Trump sued in Florida, he would also need to ensure that the BBC Panorama documentary was available there. There is no evidence yet to suggest that it has been released in the United States.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has made legal threats against other media outlets over their coverage of him. He settled with both CBS News and ABC News after receiving large payments, and sought legal action against The New York Times.

The BBC’s editing was featured in a Panorama documentary broadcast days before the US presidential election in November 2024, but it only sparked significant public scrutiny after the Daily Telegraph published a leaked internal BBC memo last week.

In the memo, a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Standards Committee raised concerns that part of the speech had been edited in a way that suggested the president had explicitly encouraged the January 2021 Capitol riots.

“We will march to the Capitol, and we will cheer on our brave senators, congressmen and women,” Trump said matter-of-factly.

However, in the panorama edit, two sections of the speech more than 50 minutes apart were stitched together.

He appeared to say: “We will march to the Capitol… and I will be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The fallout led to the resignation of BBC Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Torness.

both of them Outgoing senior leaders have pushed back against critics who said the episode raised wider questions about the BBC’s impartiality.

Speaking during an internal all-staff meeting on Tuesday, Davey said: “We made some mistakes that cost us, but we need to fight,” adding that “this narrative will not only be given by our enemies, it is our narrative.”

He said the BBC had been through “difficult times… but it is doing a good job, and that speaks louder than any newspaper, any armament.”

Neither Davie nor the BBC boss mentioned Trump’s legal threat during their speech to staff on Tuesday.

Downing Street said this was a “BBC matter”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It is clear that the government has no right to comment on any ongoing legal matters.”

The row comes at a sensitive time for the BBC, with its royal charter – the agreement that underpins its management and funding arrangements – set to expire at the end of 2027.

Culture Minister Lisa Nandy will oversee talks on the terms of its renewal. she He informed the House of Commons on Tuesday of those negotiations It will “renew its mission for the modern era” and ensure a “genuinely accountable” organisation.

Nandy continued: “There is a fundamental difference between raising serious concerns about editorial failings and members of this council launching a sustained attack on the institution itself, because the BBC is not just a broadcaster, it is a national institution that belongs to us all.”

The Culture Select Committee is expected to hear evidence from senior figures at the BBC in the coming weeks, including Shah and board members Sir Robbie Gibb and Caroline Thompson.

Former editorial standards adviser Michael Prescott, who wrote the leaked memo that appeared in The Telegraph, will also be invited to give evidence.

Elsewhere, an internal UK Reform email has been seen by BBC News He confirmed that the party had ended its cooperation with a documentary film commissioned by the radio About her rise.

The email says the production team was given “unprecedented access” to senior party figures, but must now withdraw consent to use any footage of the Trump diss.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump’s second term with weekly North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher American politics is not woven Newsletter. Readers in the UK can Register here. Those outside the UK can Register here.