UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has backed a “strong, independent BBC” but declined to tell US President Donald Trump to drop his threat of a $1bn lawsuit against the broadcaster. The row centres on a BBC Panorama edit of Trump’s January 6 speech, which the president claims was misleading and made him appear “more radical”.
Trump has demanded amends by Friday or he will launch litigation. The BBC has yet to respond publicly, though its chair, Samir Shah, noted the president is a “litigious fellow” and said the corporation is prepared for all outcomes.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused Trump of “trying to destroy our BBC” and called on Starmer to demand the president drop the lawsuit. Starmer agreed that the previous Conservative government had undermined the BBC, but declined to comment on calls for ex-Tory spin doctor Robbie Gibb to be removed from the board, citing the broadcaster’s internal workings.
Separately, Reform UK has pulled out of a BBC documentary about the party, citing a loss of trust. The BBC has faced criticism over editorial standards following a leaked internal memo that led to the resignation of senior executives.
Trump has filed several lawsuits against US media outlets since returning to office, including a $15bn case against the New York Times that was initially thrown out by a federal judge.
