In the latest development, BBC issued an apology to U.S. President Donald Trump for using an edited part of his speech in a documentary that appeared to show him encouraging violence before the January 6 Capitol riots. The broadcaster revealed that its lawyers sent a formal response to Trump’s legal team after receiving a letter on Sunday.
BBC chair Samir Shah in addition sent a personal message to the White House stating that the corporation was sorry for using the edited clip in the programme. The BBC said the documentary will not be rebroadcast on any of its platforms.
BBC Rejects Trump’s Demand for Compensation
BBC confirmed that it would not pay any compensation, even though Trump warned of a $1 billion lawsuit. A spokesperson stated that the corporation regretted the edited video but disagreed that the circumstances supported a defamation claim. The BBC said the edit mistakenly created the impression that Trump delivered a single, continuous call to violent action. The edited portion appeared in a “Panorama” episode titled Trump: A Second Chance? The broadcaster added that it sincerely regretted the manner of editing but maintained that it had not defamed the president.
The edited clip caused a major controversy within the BBC and led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and director general Tim Davie. Both leaders stepped down shortly after questions were raised about how the documentary used Trump’s speech. Trump demanded an apology, payment, and the removal of the documentary by Friday or he would move forward with a $1 billion lawsuit. The BBC said it had addressed the concerns raised by Trump and reviewed the disputed video segment through its Corrections and Clarifications group before responding publicly.
The BBC said the review showed that the documentary used short segments taken from different parts of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021. The broadcaster stated that these excerpts were combined in a sequence that unintentionally made the speech appear continuous. The BBC explained that this editing created the wrong impression that Trump directly called for violent action. It said the intention behind the edit was not to change the meaning of the speech, but it accepted that the final version misled viewers. The corporation stressed that it would take steps to prevent similar issues in the future.
Swastika Sruti is a Senior Sub Editor at NewsX Digital with 5 years of experience shaping stories that matter. She loves tracking politics- national and global trends, and never misses a chance to dig deeper into policies and developments. Passionate about what’s happening around us, she brings sharp insight and clarity to every piece she works on. When not curating news, she’s busy exploring what’s next in the world of public interest. You can reach her at [swastika.newsx@gmail.com]
