- US President Trump plans to sue BBC for up to $5 billion over an edited speech segment
- BBC apologised for misleading edit but denied any defamation claim against Trump
- The edited clip suggested Trump encouraged violence before the January 6 Capitol attack
US President Donald Trump announced Friday that he intends to take the BBC to court, seeking as much as $5 billion in damages after the UK broadcaster apologised for a misleadingly edited segment of one of his speeches but refused to provide financial compensation.
Although the BBC has dismissed his defamation allegation, Trump has shown no sign of stepping back from the dispute. The clash continues despite the exits of several senior BBC figures and rising concern that the episode could complicate relations with London.
"We'll sue them for anywhere between a billion and five billion dollars, probably some time next week. I think I have to do it. They've even admitted that they cheated," Trump said while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
Before this latest statement, Trump had floated the possibility of a $1 billion lawsuit, a figure that amounts to roughly 13 per cent of the BBC's yearly income, which is largely funded through licence fees collected from British public.
The corporation has been engulfed in internal upheaval after an old clip from its flagship program "Panorama," broadcast ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, re-emerged last week showing an edited version of Trump's remarks.
On Monday, the BBC issued an apology for creating the impression in the documentary that Trump had directly encouraged "violent action" shortly before his supporters marched to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
"The people of the UK are very angry about what happened, as you can imagine, because it shows the BBC is fake news," Trump said Friday.
He also remarked that he intended to bring the matter up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has defended the broadcaster's independence but avoided openly siding against Trump.
"I'm going to call him over the weekend. He actually put a call into me. He's very embarrassed," Trump said.
Trump's legal team sent a letter to the BBC on Monday accusing the organisation of tarnishing the president's reputation and giving it until Friday to apologise and provide compensation.
According to the BBC, its chairman Samir Shah wrote "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."
However, the broadcaster also stated, "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 the UK, the episode has rekindled fierce debate over how public broadcasters operate and whether they maintain neutrality, adding pressure to an organisation already battered by repeated controversies.
The uproar arrives at a delicate moment, the BBC is approaching negotiations over its next Royal Charter, the document defining how the corporation is run. The current charter expires in 2027.
The controversy regarding the edited video has already triggered the resignations of the director-general and the corporation's top news chief.
The broadcaster also confirmed it is reviewing a separate alteration to one of Trump's speeches from the day of the Capitol attack, a version the Telegraph reported was shown on "Newsnight" in June 2022.
Speaking to GB News in an interview aired Friday, Trump reiterated that he feels compelled to continue with legal action.
"This was so egregious," he said of the edit, adding, "If you don't do it, you don't stop it from happening again with other people."
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