London – British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) He sent a personal apology to the US president on Thursday. donald trumpBut the president’s lawyers said there was no legal basis to sue the public broadcaster over the documentary, which they said was defamatory.
The documentary was aired on the BBC news program Panorama just before the 2024 US presidential election and is a splicing of three parts of President Trump’s speech when his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The montage gave the impression that those in power were calling for violence..
”The BBC sincerely regrets the way the video was edited.we strongly disagree that there is basis for a defamation lawsuit,” the network said in a statement.
Lawyers for the US president threatened to sue the BBC on Sunday. He faces up to $1 billion in damages unless he removes the documentary, apologizes to the president, and compensates for “economic and reputational damage.”
By arguing that Mr Trump’s defamation suit is baseless, the BBC has effectively signaled that it believes his claim for economic damages is similarly unsustainable. Nevertheless, The network did not directly address Trump’s financial needs..
In a statement, the BBC said its chairman said: Sameer Shah“He sent a letter to the White House on Thursday in which he made it clear that he and the company regretted the editing (of the video).” Mr Shah apologized earlier this week before the UK Parliament’s Oversight Committee. He said the editing was an “error in judgment.”
In a statement Thursday, The BBC added that it had no plans to rebroadcast the documentary. on any platform.
A documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” aired before last year’s presidential election. combined image Trump’s remarks were made approximately 50 minutes apart..
In a speech to supporters in Washington on January 6, he said: as Congress certified results showing Joe Biden won the election.“We’re going to walk to the Capitol and cheer for our brave senators and congressmen, but we’re probably not going to cheer for some of them quite as much,” Trump said.
but The documentary produced by the BBC combined that phrase with the previous sentence. In it, the American president said: “I’ll be there with you,” a quote from his speech much later. An edited version suggests he said: “We’re going to walk to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you … and we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight as hard as we can.”
Also on Thursday, The BBC said it was investigating new allegations.featured in British media telegraph paper, On editing his other show, Newsnight.from the same speech.
The BBC is in its biggest crisis in decades Following the resignations of two senior executives over accusations of bias.including the editing of Trump’s speech. The accusations came to light in a report leaked by a BBC official.
Founded in 1922, Mainly funded by fees paid by British TV viewersThe BBC has found itself in a leadership vacuum following his resignation over scandal, as the British government considers how to fund the network in the future.
This is an important tool of Britain’s ‘soft power’ around the world, and the Prime Minister said: keir starmer, He said on Wednesday he believed in a “strong and independent” BBC..
Reuters news agency and newspapers new york times