U.S. president Donald Trump has said he has an “obligation” to sue the BBC after its Panorama documentary allegedly edited his January 6th, 2021 speech in a misleading way.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump claimed the broadcaster “butchered” his words, accusing it of defrauding the public.
This comes after his lawyers sent a letter to the BBC demanding a retraction, an apology, and $1 billion in damages. The BBC has until Friday evening to respond. Michael Prescott, the former BBC standards adviser behind the leaked memo reported by The Telegraph, will also be asked to testify.
As previously reported, a leaked memo exposed that the Panorama team had spliced together two separate sections of Trump’s speech, making it appear as if he urged supporters to “fight like hell” at the Capitol. In reality, Trump had called on the crowd “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness resigned over what they called an “error of judgment.”
In his latest comments, Trump said: “They actually changed my January 6 speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical.”
The dispute comes at a sensitive moment for BBC as its Royal Charter—which defines its governance and funding framework—is set to expire at the end of 2027.
BBC has said it will “respond in due course” to the president’s demand.
