Trump Sues BBC in Florida for 10 Billion Over Doctored Panorama Clip
Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC in the Southern District of Florida. The suit includes one count of defamation and one count of violating a Florida trade practices law. Trump’s legal team are demanding $5 billion in damages for each count. In a 33-page complaint document, attorneys for the president accused the BBC of publishing a 'false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction' of him 'that was fabricated' in the Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance? The documentary, which was aired just a week before the US election, spliced together two parts of a speech in a way which appeared to show him inciting his followers to storm the Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. The BBC 'intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers' by 'splicing together' the two clips, the lawsuit alleges. The broadcaster edited the speech in 'a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence the election's outcome to President Trump's detriment,' it adds. The lawsuit also claims 'concerns' about the programme were raised internally before it was aired but 'the BBC ignored those concerns and did not take corrective action'.
In This Article:
- Panorama Edit Details and Alleged Deception
- BBC Response Comes With Apology and Leadership Changes
- Trump Vows to Sue: Public Statements and Stakes
- BBC's Defense and the Five Reasons It Does Not Think It Has a Case
- Internal BBC Admission and Global Context of the Edit
- Settlement Landscape and Ongoing Legal Battle
Panorama Edit Details and Alleged Deception
According to the complaint, the Panorama episode—titled Trump: A Second Chance?—edited the speech to mislead viewers, splicing two clips to imply he incited violence. The documentary aired a week before the US election and was described as splice-edited, appearing to show him urging followers to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The BBC 'intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers' by 'splicing together' the two clips, the lawsuit alleges. The broadcaster edited the speech in 'a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence the election's outcome to President Trump's detriment,' it adds.
BBC Response Comes With Apology and Leadership Changes
The BBC sent Trump a personal apology in November but said there was no legal basis for him to sue the public broadcaster over the documentary. They then refused to pay financial compensation. The corporation said the splicing of the speech was an 'error of judgment' but rejected his compensation demands. In a letter to BBC staff last month, chairman Samir Shah acknowledged what 'I fully understand has been a difficult week', adding: 'I'm aware there is sadness, anger and frustration in relation to what has happened in recent days and it is hard when the BBC is the focus of so much attention and news headlines.' He said he had written to President Trump 'personally to extend my apology' but that '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'. Mr Shah thanked staff for their resilience in what 'I fully appreciate have been challenging circumstances'.
Trump Vows to Sue: Public Statements and Stakes
Early on Monday, the US president said he would file a libel lawsuit 'probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning'. He said: 'I'm suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth… I guess they used AI or something.' Trump might have sued in the US because defamation claims in Britain must be brought within a year of publication, a window that has closed. Do YOU think Trump is right to sue the BBC? To overcome the US Constitution’s legal protections for free speech and the press, Trump will need to prove not only that the edit was false and defamatory but also that the BBC knowingly misled viewers or acted recklessly. Trump vowed to sue unless he got a full retraction, a grovelling apology, and an offer of compensation for misleading Panorama viewers with an edit of his speech. The BBC confirmed the Panorama programme will 'not be broadcast again in this form or on any BBC platforms'.
BBC's Defense and the Five Reasons It Does Not Think It Has a Case
The BBC’s legal team sent Trump a letter setting out five reasons why it does not think it has a case to answer. It said the documentary was restricted to viewers in the UK, did not cause Trump any harm — as he was re-elected shortly after — and 'was not designed to mislead, but just to shorten a long speech'. It also said the clip was 12 seconds within an hour-long programme, which also contained voices in support of Trump, and finally, an opinion on a matter of public concern and political speech is heavily protected under defamation laws in the US. Legal experts have said the documentary could be argued as substantially true and that its editing decisions did not create a false impression; it could also claim the programme did not damage Trump's reputation.
Internal BBC Admission and Global Context of the Edit
The BBC admitted '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.' Trump had previously criticized the October 2024 Panorama programme that spliced sections of his speech to suggest he directly stoked the 2021 insurrection. Following the row, Director General Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, the head of BBC News, resigned on November 9. Trump remarked: 'I guess I have to [sue]. Why not? They defrauded the public, and they've admitted it. This is within one of our great allies, supposedly our great ally. That's a pretty sad event. They actually changed my January 6 speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical.' He also told Fox News on November 11: 'I think I have an obligation to [sue] because you can't allow people to do that.' Trump said he would be 'left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights... including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars [£760million] in damages,' if the BBC failed to act.
Settlement Landscape and Ongoing Legal Battle
Trump has filed lawsuits against the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and a newspaper in Iowa, all three of which have denied wrongdoing. Other media outlets have settled with Trump, including CBS and ABC when Trump sued them following his comeback win in the November 2024 election. IMAGES: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/12/16/00/104757131-15387123-image-a-11_1765845860098.jpg
