Dec 18, 2025
3 min read
8.5 billion from the British corporation according to the "trigger" edition of the US President's speech on the day of the attack on the Capitol.
The BBC confirms its intention to sue Trump
The President of the United States demands 8.5 billion from the British company for the “misleading” edition of his speech on the day of the attack on the Capitol
The BBC announced on Tuesday that it is ready to defend itself in US courts against Donald Trump's multi-million dollar lawsuit.The legal team of the President of the United States has finally put an end to the threat that emerged in the middle of last month.They asked the British company to pay up to $10 billion (€8.5 billion) for "fraudulently" publishing the president's January 2021 speech.
"As we've said, we will defend this case," a BBC spokesman said.
No one in the company questioned the clumsiness and error of judgment in the editing of two excerpts from Trump's address to the nation on January 6, 2021, which resulted in an attack on the Capitol by mobs of the American politician's supporters.The editing of the audio incorrectly showed Trump's direct order to his people to attack the Capitol.
The BBC apologized to the White House and removed the Panorama documentary from its broadcasts and the BBC iPlayer network platform.However, from the first minutes, he resigned on the idea of the American president to give legal pressure and, as some American networks have already done, he absorbed a million dollars through an out-of-court settlement.
The resulting crisis led to the resignation of then-CEO Tim Davey and head of news Deborah Turns.
But despite a few weeks of calm, with Trump apparently satisfied with the apology, the president resumed his war against the British company.
The complaint, according to a statement released by Trump's lawyers, claims that "the once highly regarded BBC and is now the subject of misery has defamated President Trump by deliberately, malicious and fraudulent with his speech with the apparent intention of intervening in the Presidential Election 2024."
Trump filed a lawsuit in a Miami court early this Tuesday in Spain, and the amount he is asking for in compensation has been announced: $5 billion for each of the two charges he accuses the British entity of, one of defamation and the other of violating Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Trump chose Mar-Lago, his home state, because there is no two-year statute of limitations for defamation, unlike in the United Kingdom, where the statute of limitations is only one year.
Although the program had been published more than a year earlier, in November, through a feature in the conservative British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, concerns and internal debate at the BBC about that publication came to light and the crisis began.
The BBC is financed by a fee of around €200 a year, which is paid by all viewers in the United Kingdom.They face criminal fines of up to 1,200 euros if they don't pay.The network's legal team understands that any payment to Trump would be a political fraud on British taxpayers.
Also, the Panorama program is not broadcast in the United States and does not have access to the BBC's iPlayer platform, where the documentary was available until a month ago.
To date, US judicial doctrine has been very strict regarding the protection of freedom of information, which is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution and in the decisions establishing the law.
But Trump's lawyer said the BBC documentary would not be shown domestically.But it did serious damage to the economy and the president's reputation.
Trump's lawyers had to prove that the editing of the documentary was intended to be defamatory, but that the British industry's administration had misunderstood its viewers and acted negligently.
The BBC case became a symbolic fight for press freedom.Public television is one of the most respected journalistic institutions in the world, and it is the first enemy outside its country that Trump has chosen to attack.There are many voices in the UK calling on public society not to bow to the pressure of the US president.
The issue also poses a delicate decision for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has insisted on maintaining the "special relationship" between London and Washington against all odds, even if it leads to what many of his critics see as complacency and a Trump-like attitude.
“Any decision on its legal strategy rests with the BBC,” added a Downing Street spokesperson.
But the nuances mentioned below show that Downing Street is also following diplomacy in this matter to avoid new damage: "We always say that it is very important to maintain this trust, and to do this we must correct mistakes as soon as we find them," the spokesperson emphasized.
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