The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) issued a personal apology to President Donald Trump on Thursday and clarified that there was no legal justification for him to pursue a defamation lawsuit against the public broadcaster over a documentary labeled as defamatory by his attorneys.
The documentary, broadcasted on the BBC’s “Panorama” news show just before the 2024 US presidential election, stitched together segments of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, during the Capitol breach by his supporters. The editing gave the impression that he was inciting violence.
While acknowledging the regrettable editing of the video clip, the BBC maintained its stance that there was no grounds for a defamation lawsuit. Trump’s legal team had warned of a potential $1 billion lawsuit against the BBC unless the documentary was retracted, an apology was issued to the president, and compensation for alleged financial and reputational damages was provided.
By dismissing the merit of Trump’s defamation claim, the BBC implied that his pursuit of financial damages was also insupportable. However, the broadcaster did not directly address the financial compensation demand from Trump.
The BBC confirmed that Chair Samir Shah personally apologized to the White House on Thursday for the editing error. Shah had previously apologized to a British parliamentary oversight committee, acknowledging the edit as a lapse in judgment.
British culture minister Lisa Nandy expressed support for the BBC’s apology to Trump, noting that the acknowledgment of failing to meet high standards was the basis for the board chairman’s apology to the US President.
The BBC stated that it had no intention of re-airing the documentary on any of its platforms. Additionally, the broadcaster acknowledged it was investigating fresh claims, reported in The Telegraph, regarding the editing of the same speech by another BBC program, “Newsnight.”
The BBC faced significant turmoil following the resignation of two senior executives amidst allegations of bias, particularly concerning the edit of Trump’s speech. These allegations surfaced due to a leaked report by a BBC standards official, marking one of the broadcaster’s most substantial crises in years.