Trump sues BBC for billions over edited 6 January speech

US President Donald Trump has launched a multi-billion-dollar defamation suit against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of doctoring part of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.

Court papers filed in Florida say Mr Trump is claiming $5bn (£3.7bn) in damages on each of two counts – defamation and violation of a trade practices law.

The BBC has apologised to Mr Trump for the way his remarks were edited but has refused to pay compensation and says there is no legal basis for a defamation claim. The corporation has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit.

At issue is a segment from Mr Trump’s address in Washington on 6 January 2021, delivered shortly before the riot at the US Capitol.

In the original speech, he told supporters:

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

More than 50 minutes later, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”

In the Panorama programme, the clip was edited to:

The BBC later accepted that this edit created “the mistaken impression” that Mr Trump had issued a direct call for violent action, but insisted this did not amount to defamation.

Mr Trump’s legal team accuses the broadcaster of “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” altering the sequence of his words to damage his reputation.

Last month, Mr Trump publicly signalled his intention to go to court, telling reporters:

The controversy also triggered repercussions inside the BBC.

In November, a leaked internal memo criticised the editing of the speech, prompting the resignation of director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.

Before the lawsuit was filed, BBC lawyers sent a detailed response to Mr Trump’s complaints. They argued that:

There was no malice in the edit;

The programme had not caused him harm, pointing out that he was re-elected shortly after it aired; and

The BBC neither held rights to distribute the Panorama episode on its US outlets nor broadcast it on its American services.

They added that while the documentary was available on BBC iPlayer, it was geo-restricted to UK viewers.

In his Florida suit, Mr Trump argues that the BBC’s liability extends beyond the UK.

He cites alleged licensing agreements with third-party distributors, including one company said to hold rights to screen the documentary outside the UK.

The BBC has not publicly commented on those specific claims or on the referenced agreement.

The lawsuit further contends that people in Florida are likely to have viewed the programme despite the geo-blocking, either by using virtual private networks (VPNs) or via BritBox, a streaming platform that carries BBC content.