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15-01-2026
LONDON: The BBC will file a motion to dismiss Donald Trump’s lawsuit over how his 6 January 2021 speech was edited in a Panorama documentary.
The US president filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit in a Florida court last month, accusing the BBC of defamation and of violating a trade practices law.
Court papers filed on Monday show the broadcaster will argue the Florida court lacks “personal jurisdiction” over the BBC, the court venue is “improper” and that Trump has “failed to state a claim”.
The BBC previously apologized to Trump over the edit but rejected his demands for compensation and disagreed there was a basis for a defamation claim.
The corporation will also argue that Panorama program was not aired in the US and did not defame the US president.
It will also assert that the president has not demonstrated that the documentary caused any actual damage to him, noting that he was re-elected after the program aired and carried Florida with a commanding majority.
Trump claims that the documentary aired on Britbox, which the BBC said is not correct. The BBC will add that Trump cannot plausibly allege that the documentary was published with “actual malice”.
It points out that the clip is some 15 seconds of an hour-long program containing extensive coverage of his supporters and balanced coverage of his path to re-election.
During Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021, before a riot at the US Capitol, he told a crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
More than 50 minutes later in the speech, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
In the Panorama program, a clip showed him as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC previously acknowledged the edit had given “the mistaken impression” Trump had “made a direct call for violent action” but disagreed that there was basis for a defamation claim.
An internal BBC memo leaked in November criticized how the speech was edited, and led to the resignations of the corporation’s director general, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness.
In Monday’s court documents, the broadcaster also asked the court “to stay all other discovery”, a pre-trial process in which opposing parties exchange evidence and information, pending the decision on the motion.
A proposed trial date in 2027 has been indicated should the case progress.
A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
Earlier, the BBC has asked a US court to dismiss US President Donald Trump’s multi-billion lawsuit over how his 6 January 2021 speech was edited in a Panorama documentary.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Florida, demands $5bn (£3.7bn) and accuses the BBC of “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring” the speech Trump gave before the US Capitol riot.
The BBC previously apologized to Trump for the edit but disagrees that there was a basis for a defamation claim.
The Panorama documentary, called Trump: A Second Chance? was broadcast on 28 October 2024, just days before the US presidential election.
In his speech on 6 January 2021, Trump told a Washington DC crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” (BBC)
