BBC sorry for Trump speech mix-up, but no money will be paid

The corporation acknowledged that the episode of the program Panorama featuring Trump had been edited. It could have created a misleading impression that the president, during his January 6, 2021, speech, was calling for violent actions.

The apology came a few hours after the Daily Telegraph published a second similar edited clip, broadcast on the program Newsnight in 2022.

“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,” the statement said.

In addition to the apology posted in the Corrections and Clarifications section, the BBC has removed the program from broadcast.

Company employees confirmed that they sent a response to the lawyers and a separate letter from BBC Director-General Samir Shah to the White House with apologies.

The BBC also outlined the reasons for rejecting the US president’s $1 billion compensation claim: the program was not broadcast in the US, the documentary did not harm Trump, the editing was not malicious, the clip was only a short segment of an hour-long program, and political statements are protected under US free speech law.

Scandal over Trump’s speech

The US president’s lawyers threatened the corporation with a $1 billion lawsuit over the edited speech, which they said created a misleading impression.

Trump’s legal team demanded a full and fair retraction, an apology, and $1 billion in compensation. They argued that the editing had damaged the president’s reputation.

The scandal almost immediately led to resignations among the BBC leadership. Following the publicity around Panorama and subsequent media coverage, BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness resigned.

The BBC also stated that it is reviewing its editorial standards.