The BBC announced on Thursday that its chairman has apologized in writing to US President Donald Trump for a deceptive editing of one of his speeches, but the BBC denied that this constituted a defamation action. The remarks followed an earlier statement from Britain’s troubled national broadcaster that it was looking into a potential second instance of a Trump speech being misrepresented.
The BBC apologized on Monday for creating the impression in a documentary that was shown last year that Trump had specifically called for “violent action” prior to his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The video clip set off a chain reaction that resulted in the resignation of the BBC’s senior news officer and director general on Sunday, as well as a $1 billion lawsuit threat from Trump’s attorneys. According to a statement from the station, BBC Chair Samir Shah “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.”
“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 statement continued. It claimed that in response, BBC attorneys had written to Trump’s legal team.
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