The British Broadcasting Corporation sent a personal apology to US President Donald Trump on Thursday, but said there was no legal basis for him to sue the public broadcaster over a documentary his lawyers called defamatory.
The documentary, which aired on the BBC's "Panorama" news program just before the US presidential election in 2024, spliced together three parts of Trump's speech on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the Capitol. The edit created the impression he had called for violence.
"While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree that there is a basis for a defamation claim," the broadcaster said in a statement.
Lawyers for the US president threatened on Sunday to sue the BBC for damages of up to $1 billion unless it withdrew the documentary, apologized to the president, and compensated him for "financial and reputational harm."
By asserting that Trump’s defamation case lacks merit, the BBC effectively signaled that it believes his claim for financial damages is equally untenable. But the broadcaster did not directly address Trump's financial demand.
BBC writes an apology letter to the White House
In its statement, the BBC said Chair Samir Shah on Thursday "sent a personal letter to the White House making clear that he and the corporation were sorry for the edit." Shah earlier in the week apologized to a British parliamentary oversight committee and said the edit was "an error of judgment."
In the Thursday statement, the BBC added that it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary on any of its platforms.
Earlier on Thursday, the BBC said it was looking into fresh allegations, published in The Telegraph newspaper, over the editing by another of its programs, "Newsnight," of the same speech.
The BBC has been thrown into its biggest crisis in decades after two senior executives resigned amid allegations of bias, including about the editing of Trump’s speech. The claims came to light because of a leaked report by a BBC standards official.
Founded in 1922 and funded largely by a license fee paid by TV-watching Britons, the BBC is without a permanent leader as the government weighs how it should be funded in the future.
It is a vital instrument of Britain's "soft power" globally, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believed in a "strong and independent" BBC on Wednesday.
BBC looking into allegations over another Trump speech edit
The BBC said earlier on Thursday it was looking into fresh allegations, published in The Telegraph newspaper, over the editing by another of its programmes of a speech by US President Donald Trump.
The British Broadcasting Corporation has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades after two senior leaders resigned following accusations of bias, including in the way a speech by Trump was edited in a Panorama documentary.
Trump has threatened a $1 billion lawsuit against the public broadcaster over that film.
The Telegraph, which initially broke that story, reported on Thursday that another BBC programme, Newsnight, also selectively edited footage of the same speech, in a report broadcast in June 2022, two years before Panorama's edit.
The paper said the Newsnight edit was similar to the Panorama version.
"The BBC holds itself to the highest editorial standards," a BBC spokesperson said in response to the latest Telegraph report.
"This matter has been brought to our attention, and we are now looking into it."
The BBC apologised on Monday for the Panorama documentary, which spliced together three parts of a Trump speech on January 6, 2021, the day his supporters stormed the Capitol, creating the impression he had called for violence.
His lawyers said the BBC must retract its documentary by Friday or face a lawsuit for "no less" than $1 billion.
They also demanded that the BBC issue an apology and compensate Trump for what it said was "overwhelming reputational and financial harm", according to a letter, seen by Reuters.
The BBC has said it is considering how to respond.