The British state broadcaster says it “sincerely regrets” deceptively editing the US president’s speech
The BBC has said that it apologized to US President Donald Trump for broadcasting a documentary that deceptively edited the speech he gave right before the 2021 Capitol riot.
The UK’s public broadcaster admitted earlier that an episode of its Panorama series shown in 2024 “gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action” to his supporters who stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
A BBC spokesperson said Thursday night that the network’s chair, Samir Shah, had sent a personal letter to the White House “making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry” and promised not to rebroadcast the documentary on any platforms.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Trump, who has long denied inciting the Capitol riot and has accused the media of spreading lies, threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion (£758 million) unless it apologized, retracted the documentary and compensated him. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has described the network as a “leftist propaganda machine.”
The scandal led to the resignations of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness. Multiple MPs criticized the network, with Tory leader Kemi Bedinoch calling the edit of Trump’s speech “absolutely shocking.”
Trump previously secured large payouts from CBS News’ parent company, Paramount, and from ABC as part of legal settlements.
