The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a Panorama documentary, but rejected his demands for compensation after his lawyers threatened a $1bn (£760m) lawsuit. The corporation has also agreed not to rebroadcast the programme.
A BBC spokesperson said lawyers had written to Trump's legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday. BBC chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House expressing regret for the edit of Trump's speech on 6 January 2021. The statement said: 'While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.'
The controversy led to the resignations of director general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness. The Panorama episode, aired before the US election, spliced together sections of Trump's speech from nearly an hour apart, suggesting he 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.'
Concerns were raised in a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee, who cited instances of alleged systemic bias. The BBC has denied this. Legal experts have questioned Trump's chances of success in a Florida court, given the state's liberal libel laws and the fact the programme was not available there.
Separately, BBC's Newsnight has been accused of a similar edit of the same speech. A former White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, criticised the splicing on air. The BBC said it was looking into the matter. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to demand Trump drop the lawsuit, which has not yet been filed.
