“BBC Chairman Samir Shah has sent a personal letter to the White House, making it clear to President Donald Trump that he and the corporation are deeply sorry for the editing of the President’s remarks,” the BBC said in a statement on November 13, announcing that it had removed the documentary Trump: Is There a Second Chance? from all platforms.
Although the BBC expressed “sincere regret” over the editing process, it argued that there is insufficient basis for President Trump to sue the broadcaster for “defamation.” BBC lawyers also sent a response to Trump’s legal team. In an episode of the Panorama documentary series aired before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the BBC edited footage of Trump’s speech from the day of the Capitol riot in a way that made it appear as if he encouraged protesters to “fight like hell.” In reality, Trump had said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators and congressmen.”
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, resigned over the scandal. Chairman Samir Shah later issued an apology, acknowledging that the broadcaster should have been more objective. President Trump’s legal team sent a letter giving the BBC until November 14 to remove all content containing the edited video. His team warned that the BBC could face a lawsuit and damages of no less than $1 billion.
Beyond Panorama, the BBC is also reviewing another edited version of Trump’s remarks concerning the riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to The Telegraph, in a June 2022 Newsnight broadcast, phrases spoken by Trump at different points in his speech were spliced together to create the impression that he urged his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell.”