Donald Trump has given the BBC a deadline of Friday to retract “false” and “defamatory” statements made about him in a Panorama documentary, or face a billion-dollar lawsuit.
The US president threatened legal action after a report from Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised concerns that a speech Trump had made before the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021, had been selectively edited by the BBC.
BBC chairman Samir Shah has apologised for an “error of judgment” and two of the corporation’s most senior figures – chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness and director-general Tim Davie – resigned from their positions on Sunday.
The government has said it does not believe the BBC is corrupt or institutionally biased, appearing to hit back at critics of the public broadcaster, including Trump.
A spokesman for the prime minister said: “On the question of is the BBC corrupt? No.
“The BBC has a vital role in an age of disinformation… where there’s a clear argument for a robust, impartial British news service to deliver, and that case is stronger than ever.”
The Prescott memo raised concerns about the way clips of Trump’s speech were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
The letter, from Trump counsel Alejandro Brito, demands that “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about Trump must be retracted immediately.
Critics said the Panorama edit was misleading and removed a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”
Trump’s lawyer adds: “Failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to recover damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that the BBC has caused him to suffer, with all rights and remedies being expressly reserved by President Trump.”
Deborah Turness insisted the BBC is not “institutionally biased” following her resignation on Sunday
The letter says if the BBC “does not comply”, Trump will be “left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars in damages.”
The White House may also consider restricting the corporation’s access to “open press events” as a result of the edit, according to a senior official quoted in the Telegraph.
Trump has a history of suing news organisations in the US and previously settled a defamation case against ABC News after star anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely said he had been found “liable for rape”.
Trump also settled a legal dispute with CBS News over an interview it broadcast on its 60 Minutes programme with former vice president Kamala Harris.
He is currently engaged in legal action with the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Trump has also taken action against the Associated Press after the wire service refused to call the Gulf of Mexico by his preferred name for it: the Gulf of America.
Responding to a letter from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS), Mr Shah said there have been more than 500 complaints since the publication of Mr Prescott’s memo raising concerns about the editing of Panorama.
He said: “We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.”
However, he said it is “simply not true” that Mr Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC), “uncovered” issues that the BBC has sought to “bury”.
Mr Shah said the BBC board will revisit every item set out in Mr Prescott’s memo, including the editing of the speech and the reporting of casualty figures in Gaza and “will take further action where appropriate.”
In an article for the Guardian, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, called for the removal of former political adviser Sir Robbie Gibb from the board to ensure “independence, impartiality and trust”.
It comes as the UK government is set to begin a review of the BBC’s Royal Charter, which sets out the corporation’s governance and public mission.
The review into the BBC’s licence fee model will look at alternative funding for the broadcaster’s operations for when its current charter period ends in December 2027.
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