The BBC has apologized to US President Donald Trump for broadcasting a documentary on Panorama that spliced together two lines from his January 6, 2021 speech, but said it would not pay compensation or accept claims of defamation.
The station confirmed on Sunday that it sent a letter to Trump’s legal team after receiving a letter threatening to sue the station for $1 billion unless it provides a “full and fair retraction,” an apology, and financial compensation.
A BBC spokesperson said on Thursday: “BBC lawyers have written to President Trump’s legal team in response to the letter they received on Sunday.”
“BBC Chairman Sameer Shah has sent a separate letter to the White House expressing regret that President Trump and the BBC have edited the President’s speech on January 6, 2021, which was featured on the program.
“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on BBC platforms.
“The BBC deeply regrets the way the video clip was edited, but strongly disagrees that the defamation claim has merit.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie and news chief executive Deborah Turness announced their resignations on Sunday, following days of pressure stemming from the leak of a memo written by Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee.
The memo included a series of claims that the documentary, which aired just before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, was edited to mislead President Trump’s speech.
Shah apologized Monday for what he called an “error in judgment” in the documentary, saying that splicing together parts of President Trump’s speech about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot “gave the impression of a direct call for violence.”
Mr Trump’s lawyers have written to the BBC asking for an apology and “appropriate compensation” by Friday.
Trump is known for aggressively suing news outlets he disagrees with, including US networks CBS and ABC, which both reached multimillion-dollar settlements in defamation lawsuits brought against him.