BBC apologizes to Trump after being threatened with a $1 billion lawsuit

(CLO) The BBC has apologized to US President Donald Trump after he threatened to sue for $1 billion in compensation for the TV channel's false reporting about him.

A BBC spokesman said on November 13: "BBC Chairman Samir Shah has sent a personal letter to the White House, making it clear to President Trump that he and the BBC deeply regret the editing of the President's speech on 6 January 2021."

A spokesman said there were "no plans" to rebroadcast the controversial documentary on any BBC platform.

"While the BBC sincerely regrets the way the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree that there are sufficient grounds to bring a defamation claim," the spokesman added.

Illustration: GI

The BBC has come under intense criticism for its BBC Panorama documentary about Mr Trump's January 6, 2021, remarks, which he made before the attack on the US Capitol. Critics said the documentary was misleading because it omitted Mr Trump's call for supporters to protest " peacefully ", and spliced ​​the president's remarks nearly an hour apart to make them appear as one long statement.

Mr Trump threatened to sue for $1 billion if the “false, defamatory, degrading and inflammatory statements” were not immediately retracted. The row led to the resignations of BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness and BBC director general Tim Davie.

Mr Trump's legal team said they found the BBC's "reckless disregard for the truth further highlights the true malice behind the decision to publish the false content".

The US president has demanded a "full and fair retraction of the documentary", a retraction of any other false claims, as well as an apology and compensation.

"If the BBC fails to comply with the above terms by 5:00 p.m. on November 14, 2025 (Eastern US time), President Trump will have no choice but to enforce his legal and equitable rights..., including filing a lawsuit seeking damages of not less than $1,000,000,000 (One billion dollars). The BBC is on alert," the letter sent by the White House to the BBC earlier stated.

The Telegraph revealed the incident when it published a whistleblower dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, a media consultant once hired by the BBC to review editorial standards.

The documents criticise several aspects of the BBC's coverage, including editing of news about Mr Trump, coverage of transgender issues and alleged bias in Israel's war in Gaza in the BBC's Arabic service.

Source: https://congluan.vn/bbc-xin-loi-ong-trump-sau-khi-bi-doa-kien-doi-boi-thuong-1-ty-usd-10317720.html