“I want to make it clear that our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation lawsuit, and we will fight this,” Shah said in a message to staff on November 17.
Shah added that there has been growing speculation about the possibility of BBC being sued by U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as concerns over potential legal fees or settlement costs. He emphasized that the BBC operates using public license fees, and therefore has a responsibility to protect the interests of British fee-payers.
Last weekend, President Trump announced that he would file a lawsuit seeking $1–5 billion in damages from the BBC, and said the case could begin as early as this week. He also said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had called him to express embarrassment over the situation.
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Earlier, the BBC chairman sent a letter to the White House apologizing to President Trump for the edited version of his speech. However, the broadcaster refused to pay compensation, saying there was no sufficient basis for Trump to sue them for “defamation.”
The controversy stems from an episode of the BBC documentary series Panorama, aired ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The program edited footage from Trump’s January 6, 2021 Capitol riot speech in a way that led viewers to believe he encouraged protesters to “fight like hell.” In reality, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators and congressmen.”
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned over the scandal, and Chairman Shah acknowledged that the broadcaster should have acted more objectively.