On November 10, Trump’s legal team sent a letter to the BBC, giving the broadcaster until November 14 to remove all content containing the edited video of his January 6, 2021 speech. The letter also demanded an official apology and “appropriate compensation” for the harm caused to Trump’s reputation.
“If the BBC fails to comply, the President will have no choice but to pursue all legal remedies available to him, including filing a lawsuit seeking no less than $1 billion in damages,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. The legal team claimed that the “fabricated statements broadcast by the BBC” had been widely circulated across multiple platforms, reaching tens of millions of viewers worldwide and causing Trump severe financial and reputational damage.
The BBC confirmed that it had received the letter and would respond in due course.
Earlier, The Telegraph published internal BBC documents written by Michael Prescott, a consultant hired to advise the broadcaster on editorial standards and guidelines. The materials revealed that the BBC had edited Trump’s January 6 speech to make it appear as though he had encouraged protesters to “fight like hell” alongside him.
In reality, Trump had said, “We will walk down to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators and congressmen.” Prescott reviewed the program and concluded that it lacked balance and leaned heavily toward an anti-Trump narrative. “The number of Trump critics overwhelmingly outnumbered his supporters, and the analysis of why he retains strong backing was incomplete,” he wrote.
Following the controversy, BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness resigned on November 9. BBC Chairman Samir Shah later issued a public apology, admitting the broadcaster “should have been more objective.”