The BBC has apologized to former President Donald Trump for misleadingly editing his January 6, 2021, speech in a documentary, but denied any defamation. The apology follows Trump's threat of a $1 billion lawsuit against the broadcaster. The incident has led to executive resignations and discussions of bias at the BBC.
On Thursday, the BBC issued an official apology to President Donald Trump for a misleading edit in its documentary "Trump: A Second Chance?", broadcast by BBC Panorama. The network admitted that it spliced together excerpts from different parts of Trump's January 6, 2021, speech, creating the false impression of a continuous call for violence.
"This program was reviewed after criticism of how President Donald Trump’s 6th January 2021 speech was edited," the BBC stated on its Corrections and Clarifications page. "During that sequence, we showed excerpts taken from different parts of the speech. However, 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 BBC added, "The BBC would like to apologize to President Trump for that error of judgement. This programme was not scheduled to be re-broadcast and will not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms."
In a separate letter to the White House, BBC Chair Samir Shah reiterated the apology but rejected defamation claims: "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."
The controversy, which erupted over the past week, prompted two executives to resign on Sunday. A leaked internal memo highlighted issues of "systematic bias" at the outlet. Tim Davie, one of the executives who stepped down, said: "Like all public organizations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable. While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision. Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility."
A Thursday report in The Telegraph revealed a similar edit of Trump's speech in a 2022 BBC Newsnight episode. A lawyer for Trump told the paper, "now clear that BBC engaged in a pattern of defamation against President Trump."
Trump has pursued multiple defamation lawsuits against media outlets, including a settlement with ABC News for $15 million over false claims by anchor George Stephanopoulos.