The BBC has pledged to defend itself against a $10bn lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump, who alleges the broadcaster defamed him and violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The lawsuit, filed on Monday evening, seeks $5bn in damages on each of two counts.
Trump claims the BBC 'intentionally, maliciously and deceptively' edited a speech he gave on 6 January 2021, before the attack on the US Capitol. The Panorama edit, broadcast over a year ago, combined sections of his speech nearly an hour apart to suggest 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.'
A BBC spokesperson said on Tuesday: 'As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.' Health minister Stephen Kinnock backed the broadcaster, saying it was 'right that the BBC stand firm' and that there was 'no case to answer' on the broader defamation point.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to 'stand up for the BBC against Trump's outrageous legal threat', accusing the Trump administration of seeking to 'interfere in our democracy' by undermining the national broadcaster. The BBC has previously acknowledged the editing was an 'error of judgment' and apologised to Trump, but insisted there was no legal basis for a defamation claim.
Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of the Trump-supporting US network Newsmax, predicted the case would settle for around $10m, with litigation costs for the BBC between $50m and $100m. He said the purpose of the lawsuit was 'to demonstrate a point' and that the BBC would likely face damaging discovery proceedings. Trump has recently secured high-profile legal wins against ABC and CBS over similar defamation claims.
The lawsuit was filed in Florida, despite BBC iPlayer and BBC One not being available in the US, and the episode never having aired there.
