Why is Donald Trump threatening to sue the BBC?

The BBC is in the midst of a crisis after its director general and head of news resigned and US President Donald Trump threatened it with a $1 billion (£760 million) lawsuit.

He came under fire after criticism that an episode of the Panorama documentary series misled viewers when it edited Trump's speech to make it appear as if he was openly encouraging people to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

BBC chairman Samir Shah apologized for this “error of judgement”. Trump demanded a retraction, an apology and compensation.

Concerns about the Trump documentary arose after an internal memo was leaked. published in the Telegraph newspaper. Among other things, the document also criticizes the BBC's reporting on transgender issues and the BBC Arabic service's coverage of the war between Israel and Gaza.

The Panorama documentary in question, entitled Trump: A Second Chance?, aired on October 28, 2024, just days before the US presidential election.

In November 2025, the Telegraph newspaper published a reportsaying they had seen a leaked BBC memo written by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the corporation's editorial standards committee.

The note said the hour-long documentary edited parts of Trump's speech so he appeared to clearly encourage the January 2021 Capitol Hill riot.

In a speech in Washington on January 6, 2021, Trump said, “We are going to go down to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators, congressmen and women.”

However, the Panorama edit showed him saying: “We're going to go down to the Capitol… and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The two sections of the speech that were edited together were separated by more than 50 minutes.

The “fighting like hell” comment was taken from a section where Trump discussed how “corrupt” the US elections are. In total, he used the words “fight” or “fight” 20 times.

Mr Prescott's note said Panorama's “distortion of the day's events” would leave viewers asking: “Why should the BBC be trusted and how will it all end?”

When the issue was raised with managers, the memo says, they “refused to acknowledge that standards had been violated.”

In a letter dated November 10th to Dame Caroline Dinenage.Samir Shah, chairman of the House of Commons culture, media and sport committee, said the BBC had received more than 500 complaints since the Telegraph article was published.

“It has also prompted further reflection by the BBC,” he said.

“The takeaway from this discussion is that we recognize that the way the speech was edited did create the impression of a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologize for this error.”

After BBC director general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness resigned, the US president said senior people at the BBC were leaving or being sacked “because they were caught 'faking' my very good (EXCELLENT!) speech on 6 January.”

Trump's lawyers subsequently sent a letter to the BBC threatening legal action, and the president told Fox News that he believes he has an “obligation” to sue the corporation.

A letter from Trump's lawyers to the BBC demanded that the documentary be immediately withdrawn, an apology made and compensation paid to him.

The BBC was given a deadline to respond on Friday 14 November at 22:00 GMT. The letter added that if the BBC did not comply, the president could sue “for damages of at least $1 billion.”

The BBC said it would respond in due course.

Trump has made it clear that he intends to take any potential legal proceedings in the US state of Florida, where he legally resides, rather than in the UK.

US courts generally have more “respect for free speech”, legal expert Joshua Rosenberg told BBC Radio 4. Someone in Trump's position would usually have to prove “that the person you're accusing acted with malice”, he said.

The president will also have to prove that he suffered serious harm from the program.

“Therefore, there are certain limitations on what can be brought and the arguments that can be made. [by the BBC]”,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “But I think it's worth looking at what happens in the real world.”

Chris Ruddy, founder and chief executive of conservative US media outlet Newsmax Media and a Trump ally, said he was familiar with Florida's libel laws and had “every confidence” the BBC would win the case if it went to trial.

“They're going to win because Florida has pretty strong libel laws that protect media companies and protect free speech,” he said. “What's happening is that many media companies would rather not be part of the media spectacle of all this.”

Faced with legal threats from Trump, other US news organizations have opted to settle, paying out millions of dollars before the case goes to trial.

As part of his case, Trump will also have to prove that the relevant portion of the Panorama program was actually available for viewing in Florida.

The president's lawyer said that “the fabricated statements that were broadcast by the BBC were widely disseminated across a variety of digital media and reached tens of millions of people around the world.”

The story has been widely reported and a corresponding Panorama clip was made available online in recent days during the coverage, but there is no evidence yet that the documentary itself has been shown in the US.

Mr Prescott raised concerns about some other elements of the BBC's news production.

He claimed that his reporting on trans issues was effectively “censored” by LGBT reporters who were promoting a pro-trans agenda.

“I have been told that time and time again, LGBTQ staff have refused to cover any stories that raise difficult questions about the trans debate,” the memo said.

And he pointed to problems with the BBC Arabic service's coverage of the war between Israel and the Gaza Strip, including the claim that “the service's stories were designed to minimize Israeli suffering and portray Israel as the aggressor.”

Other “worrying questions” were raised:

• Mr Prescott said the BBC's coverage of the 2024 US election was more critical of Mr Trump than his opponent Kamala Harris.
• He said the BBC had published “poorly researched material that points to issues of racism when there were none”, including a now-deleted BBC Verify article about car insurance.
• There was a “selection bias” against sending stories about migration and asylum seekers to users of the BBC News app as push notifications.
• His other criticisms include misrepresenting the percentage of Palestinian women and children killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, as well as misrepresenting the likelihood that children will starve as a result of the Israeli aid blockade.

Shah said measures had been taken to address the “underlying problems” in BBC Arabic.

He also said it was “simply not true” that the memo revealed issues that the BBC had “tried to bury” and it would be wrong to suggest that the BBC had done nothing to address the issues raised.

Tim Davie, who resigned, was appointed director general of the BBC in 2020. Earning between £540,000 and £544,999 per year, he oversees the corporation and is responsible for its editorial, operational and creative direction.

He did not directly mention Panorama in his resignation letter, although he said: “While the current debate surrounding BBC News is not the sole reason, it understandably contributed to my decision.

“Overall the BBC is doing a good job but some mistakes have been made and as director-general I must take full responsibility.”

He later told staff that “we need to fight for our journalism.”

Deborah Turness, who also resigned, was appointed director general of BBC News in 2022 and oversaw news and current affairs programmes.

Earning between £430,000 and £434,999.she was responsible for a team of approximately 6,000 people broadcasting to an audience of nearly half a billion worldwide in more than 40 languages.

In a statement, Turness said: “The ongoing Panorama controversy about President Trump has reached a stage where it is damaging to the BBC, an institution I love.

“As director-general of BBC News and Current Affairs, I have a responsibility – and last night I took the decision to tender my resignation to the director-general.”

She added: “While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear that recent claims that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.”

Tim Davie has survived many scandals and crises during his five years at the helm of the BBC.

These include:

Davy's resignation comes at a sensitive moment for the BBC as the government intends to review the corporation's Royal Charter before the end of its current term in 2027.

The Charter is the BBC's constitutional framework, setting out the corporation's “purpose, mission and public purpose”.

The Director-General is appointed by the BBC Board, which is responsible for ensuring that the corporation's mission is carried out and public objectives are achieved.

The BBC board is led by chairman Samir Shah, who is one of 10 non-executive members, as well as four executive members, including the director general.

Davy's successor will become the 18th director general in the BBC's 103-year history.

Potential suitors are rumored to include Charlotte Moore, the BBC's recently departed chief content officer, who was responsible for all programming except news.

Other names include Jay Hunt, one of British television's most experienced executives, and James Harding, head of BBC news from 2013 to 2018.