The BBC issued a formal apology to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, for a misleading edit in its October 2024 Panorama documentary "Trump: A Second Chance?" that spliced excerpts from his January 6, 2021, speech, creating the false impression of a direct call for violence.
The broadcaster, however, firmly rejected Trump's demands for compensation and a full retraction, stating there is "no basis for a defamation claim" and committing only to withdrawing the program from rebroadcast.
The controversy erupted after Trump's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter on November 10, 2025, threatening a $1 billion lawsuit unless the BBC complied by Friday.
The letter accused the documentary of "false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements" that caused "overwhelming financial and reputational harm."
In response, BBC Chair Samir Shah personally wrote to the White House expressing regret, while the corporation's legal team emphasized the edit was an "unintentional error of judgment" intended to illustrate the speech's reception among supporters, not to alter its meaning.
The BBC acknowledged this "mistaken impression" in a correction note but defended its broader journalism, including U.S. election coverage, against Trump's wider allegations of bias.
The scandal has plunged the BBC into crisis, triggering the resignations of Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness on November 10, who cited accountability for the "error" amid an internal review criticizing Gaza, Trump, and other coverage.
Legal experts predict Trump faces steep challenges in a potential U.K. or Florida suit, given his 2024 reelection undermines harm claims, and the BBC's partial concessions may defuse the dispute without payment.
Trump has not publicly responded to the apology. The BBC is also probing a similar 2022 Newsnight edit of the same speech.