Health Minister Stephen Kinnock has declared the BBC is right to "stand firm" and defend itself against a multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuit filed by former US President Donald Trump.
The Core of the Legal Dispute
Mr Trump is suing the British broadcaster for a staggering five billion US dollars, equivalent to £3.7 billion. The lawsuit centres on accusations that the BBC's flagship investigative programme, Panorama, selectively edited a speech Mr Trump gave on January 6, 2021 – the day of the Capitol Riots.
The controversy erupted earlier this year following a leaked internal BBC memo. This document reportedly highlighted concerns about how clips from Mr Trump's speech were spliced together for the documentary. The fallout from the report was significant, leading to the resignations of both Director-General Tim Davie and the head of news, Deborah Turness.
Accusations and Defence
In a detailed 33-page legal filing, Mr Trump's lawyers, as reported by the Associated Press, accuse the BBC of broadcasting a "false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump". The document further claims the edit was "a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence" the 2024 US presidential election.
The BBC, which has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit, has previously argued that Mr Trump's reputation could not have been harmed. Its defence rests on two points: the Panorama episode was not broadcast in the United States, and Mr Trump ultimately won the 2024 presidential election.
Political Support for the BBC
Speaking after news of the legal action broke, Minister Stephen Kinnock voiced strong support for the corporation's stance. He told Sky News that while the BBC had apologised for "one or two of the mistakes" in the Panorama film, it had been "very clear that there is no case to answer" regarding the broader accusations of libel.
"I think it’s right that the BBC stands firm on that point," Mr Kinnock stated. "Yes, there were some mistakes made in that particular piece of film, but I think the broader argument that they were making; they’re right to stick by their guns on that and I hope that they will continue to do so." He added that the Labour Party would "always stand up for the BBC as a vitally important institution".
The broadcaster has also received backing from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stand up for the BBC against what he called an "outrageous legal threat". Sir Ed warned that the Trump administration aimed to "interfere in our democracy" by undermining the national broadcaster and called on the Prime Minister to protect licence fee-payers from bearing the financial cost.
