BBC apologises to Trump over Panorama edit, rejects $1bn compensation demand

The BBC has issued an apology to US President Donald Trump for an edited segment in a 2024 Panorama episode that incorrectly implied he had directly incited violence during his 6 January 2021 speech. However, the corporation has firmly declined his demand for $1bn in compensation.

According to the BBC's reporting, the apology follows an internal review that found the edit unintentionally merged separate parts of Trump's speech, creating a misleading impression. The broadcaster confirmed it would not re-air the programme.

In its statement published under Corrections and Clarifications on Thursday evening, the BBC said, "We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action."

A BBC spokesperson said that lawyers for the corporation had already responded to a legal letter from Trump's team. 

"BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president's speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme," they added.

"While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim."

The controversy intensified after the Daily Telegraph revealed another edited sequence from a 2022 Newsnight broadcast, which also spliced apart portions of the same speech.

Trump, speaking to Fox News, argued that Panorama had "butchered" his remarks and "defrauded" viewers. His lawyers have threatened legal action unless the BBC issues a retraction, apology and compensation. Their letter set a Friday deadline of 22:00 GMT for a response.

The BBC's legal reply presented five key arguments: that the programme did not air in the US, that Trump suffered no demonstrable harm as he was re-elected shortly afterwards, that the edit was not malicious but intended to shorten a lengthy speech, that the 12-second clip did not reflect the overall context of the hour-long documentary, and that political commentary is heavily protected under US defamation law.

Internal confidence in the BBC's defence remains high, according to a corporation insider.

The fallout from the Panorama controversy has already prompted the resignations of BBC director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.

The issue resurfaced again Thursday when scrutiny fell on a 2022 Newsnight segment which combined Trump's lines "We're going to walk down to the Capitol" and "We fight. We fight like hell," followed by presenter Kirsty Wark's voiceover: "and fight they did," as footage of the Capitol riot played.

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, appearing on the same programme at the time, criticised the edit, saying it had "spliced together" Trump's words in a misleading way.

A BBC spokesperson responded that the broadcaster "holds itself to the highest editorial standards" and is examining the matter. Trump's legal team, meanwhile, told the Telegraph that it is "now clear that BBC engaged in a pattern of defamation against President Trump".

The controversy grew after the Telegraph published a leaked internal memo by a former independent adviser to the BBC's editorial standards committee, which also raised concerns about the broadcaster's coverage of transgender issues and the Israel–Gaza conflict.

The UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment on the matter. Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey urged the prime minister to "get on the phone to Trump" to defend the BBC's independence.