BBC apologises to Trump over Panorama edit but refuses to pay compensation
Original story by: BBC News
Last updated: Nov 13, 2025
BBC apologises to Trump over Panorama edit but refuses to pay compensation
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The BBC has issued an apology to former US President Donald Trump regarding an edited clip of his speech used in a Panorama episode. While the BBC regrets the editing, it rejects Trump’s demands for compensation and will not rebroadcast the program.
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Detailed Summary:
The BBC has apologized to Donald Trump for splicing parts of a speech together in a Panorama episode.
Trump’s lawyers had threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion in damages unless the corporation issued a retraction, apologized, and compensated him.
A second similarly edited clip was also broadcast on Newsnight in 2022.
BBC chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House expressing regret for the edit of the president’s speech from January 6, 2021, which was featured in the program.
The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?”.
The BBC acknowledges the regret over how the video clip was edited but strongly disagrees with the basis for a defamation claim.
The original speech on January 6, 2021, contained two distinct statements: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” and later, “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The Panorama program edited these to appear as: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
Trump stated that his January 6, 2021 speech was “butchered” and that its presentation “defrauded” viewers.
The BBC received a letter from Trump’s lawyers demanding a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary, an apology, and compensation for harm caused, setting a deadline for a response.
The fallout from this matter led to the resignations of BBC director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.
