BBC Chair Samir Shah declared Monday that the broadcaster will “vigorously fight” any U.S. defamation lawsuit from President Donald Trump and sees “no basis” for a case over its editing of his January 6, 2021, speech.
Trump is threatening to sue the BBC in Florida for up to $5 billion, claiming a Panorama documentary falsely portrayed him as inciting the Capitol riot by splicing non-consecutive clips of his Ellipse remarks to make “fight like hell” appear directly tied to marching on the Capitol.
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| Samir Shah |
The threatened litigation follows a November 10 cease-and-desist letter from Trump’s attorneys that expired unanswered last week. No lawsuit has been filed as of Monday.
The controversy has already cost the BBC its Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness, who resigned amid the fallout. The program, titled Trump: A Second Chance?, was produced by a third party, aired in the UK before the 2024 election, and was never broadcast or made available in the United States on BBC platforms.
BBC leadership maintains that U.S. defamation law sets an extremely high bar for public figures, requiring proof of “actual malice,” and that the UK’s one-year statute of limitations for libel has long expired.
Shah warned lawmakers the case could place financial strain on the license-fee-funded broadcaster if it proceeds in U.S. courts.