Pedestrians are reflected as they walk outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH / AP
The BBC said on Thursday, November 13, that its chairman had sent a letter to US President Donald Trump apologizing for a misleading edit of one of his speeches, but rejected that it was grounds for a defamation lawsuit. The comments came after Britain's embattled public broadcaster said earlier that it was investigating a possible second instance in which a Trump speech was edited in a misleading way.
On Monday, the BBC apologized for giving the impression in a documentary aired last year that Trump had directly urged "violent action" just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. The video edit has triggered a firestorm, leading the BBC director-general and the organization's top news executive to resign on Sunday, and drawing a threat from Trump's lawyers to sue for $1 billion.
BBC Chair Samir Shah has "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," the broadcaster said in a statement. However, it added: "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." It said BBC lawyers had written to Trump's legal team in response.
