The BBC has issued an apology to United States President, Donald Trump, over a Panorama episode that stitched together separate lines from his 6 January 2021 speech, though it has refused his request for compensation.
According to the corporation, the editing created “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,” leading to a decision that the 2024 programme will not be broadcast again.
Trump’s lawyers have threatened a $1bn (£759m) lawsuit unless the BBC retracts the documentary, apologises, and provides compensation.
The controversy has already triggered the resignations of BBC director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.
The apology also follows the exposure of a second edited clip, aired on Newsnight in 2022, which was highlighted by the Daily Telegraph.
In a Thursday evening entry in its Corrections and Clarifications section, the BBC confirmed the Panorama film had undergone review after concerns were raised about the edits made to Trump’s speech.
“We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,” the corporation stated.
A BBC spokesperson said that lawyers for the corporation had responded to the letter received from Trump’s legal team on Sunday.
“BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme,” the spokesperson said.
They added, “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.”
In his original speech, Trump told supporters, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
More than 50 minutes later, he added, “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
However, in Panorama’s edited sequence, the programme showed him saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
Speaking to Fox News, Trump claimed his words had been “butchered” and that the edit had “defrauded” viewers.
The letter sent to the BBC demanded a “full and fair retraction,” an apology, and that the corporation “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused,” giving a deadline of 22:00 GMT on Friday.
In its written reply, the BBC outlined five main reasons it believes Trump’s claim has no merit.
First, it said the corporation had neither the rights nor the intention to broadcast the Panorama episode in the United States. When it appeared on BBC iPlayer, it was accessible only in the UK.
Second, it argued that Trump had not suffered harm, noting that he was re-elected shortly afterwards.
Third, the BBC said the edit was simply a way to shorten a long speech, insisting there was no malicious intent.
Fourth, it said the 12-second clip was part of a much larger programme featuring numerous pro-Trump voices and was never meant to be taken in isolation.
Finally, it noted that political commentary on matters of public interest enjoys strong protections under US defamation law.
An internal BBC source said there is strong confidence within the organisation regarding its legal defence.
Fresh concerns over earlier Newsnight edit
Later on Thursday, the Telegraph reported another instance of a misleading cut from Trump’s 6 January speech, this time from a 2022 Newsnight broadcast.
That version showed Trump saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not gonna have a country anymore.” The clip was followed by presenter Kirsty Wark’s voiceover: “and fight they did,” played over footage from the Capitol riot.
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, appearing on the programme, pointed out the splice, “That line about ‘we fight and fight like hell’ is actually later in the speech and yet your video makes it look like those two things came together,” he said.
Reacting to the Telegraph report, a BBC spokesperson said the corporation holds itself to the “highest editorial standards” and the incident is under review.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team claimed it was “now clear that BBC engaged in a pattern of defamation against President Trump”.
The Panorama controversy intensified after the Telegraph published a leaked memo authored by a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raising issues not only about the Trump documentary but also the corporation’s reporting on trans issues and BBC Arabic’s coverage of the Israel–Gaza war.
