Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1 billion over editing a speech in a documentary

But in response to a letter from the UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Shah said it was “simply not true” that the memo revealed problems the BBC had “tried to hide” – nor would it be accurate to suggest that the broadcaster had not taken steps to address the concerns raised in the text.

Trump’s letter, which was received by the BBC on Sunday, demands an apology and for the broadcaster to “adequately compensate” the president.

The document accuses the BBC of making “false, defamatory, insulting, misleading and inflammatory” statements about him.

Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, also accused the network of defamation under Florida law.

In his letter to the parliamentary committee, Shah said the BBC had received more than 500 complaints since the memo was published.

According to him, the edition he presented panorama It was discussed by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, an internal body of the corporation, in January and May this year, as part of a wider review of the BBC’s coverage of the US election.

He added that Prescott and some committee members had already expressed concerns about the issue at the time.

Shah also said that he “heard from BBC News that the purpose of editing the excerpt was to convey the message of the speech”, so that an audience could panorama “I can better understand how he was received by President Trump’s supporters and what was happening there at that time.”

He added that this issue was not pursued “because the program did not receive a large popular response and was actually shown before the US elections.”

“With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action,” he added.

In Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, he said: “We will march to the Capitol and we will support our brave senators and representatives.”

In the program panoramaHe appeared to say: “We will march to the Capitol… and I will be there with you. And we fight. We fight with all our might.”

The two sections that were originally joined were separated by more than 50 minutes.

Davie said on Sunday that the “current controversy” surrounding the broadcaster was not the sole reason for his decision to resign, but that it “understandably contributed” to it.

“Overall, the BBC does its job well, but mistakes have been made and, as director-general, I must take ultimate responsibility.”

Torness, who has overseen the news and current affairs programs since 2022, made his first public statements on Monday (11/10) since announcing his departure, noting that the broadcaster was “not institutionally biased”.

“Mistakes happen, but BBC journalists are hardworking people and strive for impartiality,” she told reporters outside the BBC’s headquarters in London.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman, Keir Starmer, said he did not believe the BBC was “institutionally biased”. He also denied that the station was “corrupt” — a term Trump uses to describe some of its journalists.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said there were “serious questions to be answered for a long time” within the BBC and described the documentary episode as “a real problem”.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Trump wants to “destroy the BBC and take our money,” accusing British reform leader Nigel Farage of “encouraging” him.

In turn, Farage said that he spoke to Trump on Friday, and said at a press conference in London: “He just said to me: Is this how you treat your best ally?”

Prescott also expressed concern about the lack of procedures to deal with what he described as “systemic problems” of bias in BBC Arabic’s coverage of the war between Israel and Gaza.

He also raised criticism over the broadcaster’s coverage of issues associated with trans people, suggesting that the BBC was being “censored” by LGBT reporters promoting a pro-trans agenda.

Shah’s letter noted that these issues had been discussed by the Editorial Standards Committee, including concerns about BBC Arabic.

It said a review of coverage of sex and gender identity concluded that “most of the content meets the BBC’s standards for impartiality and accuracy”.

According to Shah, the committee “recognizes that there are occasions when the BBC makes mistakes” and takes action where necessary, including disciplinary sanctions, updating guidelines and publishing corrections.

“It is likely that Mr Prescott felt that these individual actions were not enough.

This is his opinion, and of course he has the right to form it. However, it is not true to say that concerns were ignored or that no action was taken.”

In an interview with Katie Razzall, the BBC’s culture editor, Shah insisted that it was “simply not true” that the organization had done nothing to address the problems, citing measures taken within the BBC Arabic Service and its long-form journalism unit.

He also said the various issues raised by Prescott had been taken seriously – including “specific errors and structural problems” – and added that action had already been taken in both cases, but he rejected the idea of ​​systemic bias.

The President of the United States has a long history of opening — or threatening to open — lawsuits against the media, with mixed results.

In July, CBS News, the BBC’s North American partner, and parent company Paramount, reached a $16 million settlement after a lawsuit filed by Trump, who accused the broadcaster of editing a misleading interview with then-Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, ahead of the 2024 election.

The New York Times, CNN, and The Des Moines Register also faced lawsuits filed by Trump.