On Wednesday, November 12th British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he supports a strong and independent BBC—but insisted the broadcaster get its “house in order.” The ultimatum follows U.S. president Donald Trump threatening to sue over a Panorama documentary that re-edited and misrepresented his January 6th, 2021 speech.
Trump has said he has an “obligation” to take legal action, claiming the biased BBC “butchered” his words and accused the broadcaster of defrauding the public. His lawyers sent a letter demanding a retraction, an apology, and $1 billion (€0.86 billion) in damages, giving the BBC until Friday to respond.
The documentary spliced together three video excerpts, creating the impression Trump incited the Capitol riot, when in reality he had urged supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The BBC admitted the edit was an “error of judgement” and said it would respond in due course.
Trump’s threat could force the BBC to pay compensation to the U.S. president using public license fee funds, deepening the broadcaster’s crisis and fueling criticism.
Conservative MPs warned there would be “real anger” if TV licence payers’ money was used to settle so-called BBC errors.
Starmer emphasised the importance of a strong and impartial BBC but stressed that mistakes must be corrected. “Where mistakes are made, they do need to get their house in order,” he said.
