Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC, seeking up to $10bn in damages over the broadcaster’s editing of a speech he delivered to supporters in Washington on 6 January 2021, shortly before they stormed the US Capitol.
In a complaint filed on Monday evening in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the US president alleged the BBC “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” edited his remarks in an episode of Panorama broadcast just over a year ago.
Trump is seeking $5bn in damages on two counts – alleging the BBC defamed him and that it violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The Panorama edit at the centre of the case
The lawsuit centres on a Panorama episode that used excerpts from Trump’s January 6 speech delivered almost an hour apart.
The edited sequence suggested Trump told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC has previously acknowledged the edit was an “error of judgment” and apologised to Trump. However, it has consistently maintained that there is no legal basis for a defamation claim.
The broadcaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
BBC director general Tim Davie
Senior BBC resignations followed editorial crisis
The lawsuit follows a period of significant turmoil at the BBC.
Last month, BBC director general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness resigned amid a broader editorial crisis. Their departures came after allegations of “serious and systemic problems” in the BBC’s coverage of issues including Trump, Gaza and trans issues.
Those claims were made by Michael Prescott, a PR executive and former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee. Prescott’s memo to the BBC board was later leaked to the UK’s The Daily Telegraph.
Jurisdiction questions and election timing
Trump’s legal action has raised questions about jurisdiction.
The case was filed in Florida despite BBC iPlayer and BBC One not being available in the United States, and despite the Panorama episode never airing there.
Trump’s lawsuit argues that the Florida court has jurisdiction because the BBC is “engaged in substantial and not isolated business activities” in the state, citing the BBC’s website and BritBox, the streaming service it operates in several markets, including the US.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team claimed the edits, which aired a week before the 2024 presidential election, amounted to a deliberate political intervention.
“The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda,” the spokesperson said.
“President Trump’s powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”
Trump had flagged the lawsuit earlier on Monday, telling reporters at the Oval Office:
“In a little while, you’ll be seeing I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth. Literally, they put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said coming out.”
George Stephanopoulos
Part of a broader legal campaign against media companies
Trump’s action against the BBC extends a legal strategy he has increasingly deployed against major media organisations.
Since his re-election last November, Trump has secured several high-profile settlements in the US. ABC, owned by Disney, agreed to pay $15m to resolve a defamation lawsuit stemming from comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
In July, Trump also reached a $16m settlement with Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, over what he alleged was false editing of a pre-election interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
His lawsuit against the BBC marks the most significant attempt yet to take that campaign beyond US borders.