US President Donald Trump announced on Friday night (14 November 2025) that he would sue the BBC for between $1 billion and $5 billion after the organization apologized for misleadingly editing one of his speeches but denied paying compensation.
“We’re going to sue them, probably within the next week, for between $1 billion and $5 billion. I think we have to do that. They’ve even admitted to wrongdoing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s lawyers sent a letter to the BBC on Monday accusing the broadcaster of defaming the president by editing a video of his speech before the Capitol riot in January 2021, giving them until Friday to apologize and pay compensation.
“As you can imagine, the British public is very angry about what happened, because it shows that the BBC broadcast fake news,” Trump said during a weekend visit to Florida.
The Republican president added that he would discuss the issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who supports the BBC’s independence and has avoided antagonizing Trump.
“I’m going to call him over the weekend. He actually called me. He’s very shy,” she added.
The BBC apologized on Monday for a documentary aired last year that gave the impression that Trump had incited “acts of violence” before his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The incident caused the group to suffer a hurricane and led to the resignation of its general director and head of the BBC News Information Network.
The network said Thursday that BBC chairman Sameer Shah sent a personal letter to the White House, telling Trump “unequivocally that both he and the company regret” the rendition of the speech.
But it added: “While the BBC deeply regrets the manner in which these images were presented, we categorically reject that the defamation claims have no legal basis.”
GS (AFP, AP)
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