Donald Trump sues BBC for up to $10bn over edit of January 6 speech

Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of a speech he made to supporters in Washington before they stormed the US Capitol in 2021, requesting up to $10bn in damages.

The US president alleged the broadcaster “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” edited his 6 January speech before the insurrection, in an episode of Panorama just over a year ago.

In a complaint filed on Monday evening, Trump sought $5bn in damages each on two counts: alleging that the BBC defamed him, and that violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The Panorama edit, taken from sections of his speech almost an hour apart, 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 did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. It has previously acknowledged the editing was an “error of judgment” and apologized to Trump, but insisted there was no legal basis for a defamation claim.

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and Deborah Turness, the head of BBC News, resigned over the affair last month. They announced their departures at the height of a crisis sparked by allegations of “serious and systemic problems” in the BBC’s coverage of issues including Trump, Gaza and trans issues.

The claims were leveled by Michael Prescott, a PR executive and former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC), in a memo sent to the broadcaster’s board, and eventually leaked to the Daily Telegraph.

Trump has long tried to used legal threats and lawsuits to pressure news companies that produce coverage he does not like. His lawsuit against the BBC takes this campaign global.

It was filed at the US district court for the southern district of Florida – even though BBC iPlayer, the main streaming platform that carries Panorama, and BBC One, the main TV channel that broadcasts it, are not available in the US. The episode never aired in the US.

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team nevertheless claimed the edits of his speech, which were aired a week before the 2024 presidential election, amounted to a “brazen attempt” to interfere in the contest.

“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.”

The Florida court has jurisdiction over this case, Trump’s lawsuit argued, because the BBC is “engaged in substantial and not isolated business activities” in the state. It pointed to the BBC’s website and BritBox, a streaming platform it operates in several markets including the US.

Trump had teased 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.”

The BBC’s director general and head of news resigned following accusations of bias at the British broadcaster, including in the way it edited Donald Trump’s speech. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

Since his re-election last November, Trump has scored several high-profile legal wins against big media firms in the US. ABC, owned by Disney, agreed to pay $15m as part of a settlement over a defamation lawsuit he brought following comments made by the anchor George Stephanopoulos.

In July, Trump also reached a $16m settlement with Paramount, parent of CBS News, over what he claimed was false editing of a pre-election interview with the Democratic candidate for president, Kamala Harris.

While many legal experts viewed the case as easily winnable for Paramount, company leadership viewed it as a distraction – particularly as it sought federal government approval for a merger with Skydance Media.

In Trump’s complaint against the BBC, his legal team writes: “The BBC, faced with overwhelming and justifiable outrage on both sides of the Atlantic, has publicly admitted its staggering breach of journalistic ethics, and apologized, but has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses.

“Accordingly, President Trump brings this action for compensatory and punitive damages for the extensive reputational harm inflicted upon him by the defendants.”

Trump has repeatedly denied responsibility for the insurrection in January 2021, which was aimed at blocking Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the 2020 US presidential election.

Following his return to office earlier this year, Trump pardoned hundreds of people who had been involved in the attack, including some convicted of violent acts.

On Monday, press freedom campaigners urged the BBC to stand strong and “fight back”.

“You don’t get to call out any alleged journalistic blunder and demand $10bn,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press foundation, said. “It’s preposterous for Trump to claim those damages when he won the 2024 election and hasn’t lost a penny because of the BBC’s editing.

“It’s also absurd for him to claim associating him with January 6 is defamatory after he spent years insisting nothing bad happened that day and then pardoned those involved. And it’s similarly outrageous that his claims are based on supposedly damaging implications of his using the word ‘fight’. He sells T-shirts with that word on them.”