Donald Trump says he will file a defamation lawsuit against the BBC “today or tomorrow” over the editing of a Panorama speech on January 6, 2021.
Speaking to reporters in Washington DC on Monday, the US president accused the broadcaster of “putting terrible words into my mouth that I didn’t say” and suggested they “may have used artificial intelligence”.
The program, which airs a week before the results of the 2024 US election are announced, has been accused of misleadingly editing a speech delivered by Trump on January 6, 2021.
It splices two different clips together, giving the impression of Trump instructing the crowd: “We’re going to walk to the Capitol… and I’m going to be with you. And then we fight. We fight like hell.”
Donald Trump previously threatened to sue for up to £5bn (PA Wire)
The dispute first started with telegraphleading to the resignations of two senior BBC executives and a non-executive board member.
The president said: “In a little while, you’re going to see me suing the BBC because they put words in my mouth. Literally, they put words in my mouth. They made me say things that I never said.
“They actually made me say things I never said and they got caught because I believe someone at the BBC said it was so bad it had to be reported. Let’s call [it] Fake news. So we may file a lawsuit this afternoon or tomorrow morning. “
Legal action has been threatened after a document written by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, was leaked.
The report accuses the organization of several incidents of bias, including doctored episodes of “Panorama.”
BBC chairman Samir Shah said the corporation was “determined to respond” to Mr Trump’s legal challenge (Getty Images)
Leaking of the report prompted Trump to threaten a £5bn lawsuit against the BBC and triggered the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness.
BBC chairman Samir Shah apologized for an “error of judgment” but said the libel case had no merit.
“There has been much written, said and speculated about the possibility of legal action, including potential fees or settlements,” Shah said in an email to staff.
“Of course, throughout all this we are acutely aware of our funding privileges and the need to protect our license fee payers – the British public.
“I want to make it clear to you – our position has not changed. The defamation case has no merit and we are determined to fight it.”
“Due to the obscene nature of the fabricated statements aired by the BBC, they have been widely disseminated through various digital media, affecting tens of millions of people around the world,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a legal filing in November.
“As a result, the BBC has subjected President Trump to enormous financial and reputational harm.”