FIRST ON FOX— President Donald Trump is attempting to hold the BBC accountable for “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements,” setting a Friday deadline for the British broadcaster to rectify the situation or face a $1 billion lawsuit.
The BBC has faced intense criticism over a BBC Panorama program concerning Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, address given before the U.S. Capitol attack. Critics argue that the documentary was extremely misleading because it omitted Trump encouraging supporters to protest peacefully, and BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC News and Current Affairs head Deborah Turness both resigned recently amid the growing controversy.
Now, Trump is taking action, and his legal counsel issued a harsh notice of intent to file a civil action lawsuit on Sunday to BBC chair Samir Shah, along with general counsel Sarah Jones. The letter, which Fox News Digital has obtained, demands the immediate retraction of “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about Trump.
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Trump’s legal team asserted that the statements in the documentary were “fabricated and aired by the BBC,” leaving the president with no option but to pursue legal recourse.
“Failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to recover damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that the BBC has caused him to suffer, with all rights and remedies being expressly reserved by President Trump,” the letter indicates.
“In the Panorama documentary, titled ‘Trump: A Second Chance,’ which was initially broadcast on October 28, 2024—one week before the 2024 United States presidential election—the BBC intentionally aimed to completely mislead its viewers by piecing together three separate sections of President Trump’s speech to supporters,” the letter continues. “The documentary depicted President Trump telling supporters: ‘We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol, and I’ll be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.’”
According to the letter, Trump actually stated, “We’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you, we’re going to walk down, we’re going to walk down any one of you but I think right here, we’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
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The letter, authored by Trump attorney Alejandro Brito, further explained that the BBC also omitted Trump saying, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
Brito accused the BBC of defamation according to Florida law.
“Due to their sensational character, the fabricated statements that were broadcast by the BBC have been extensively spread across various digital platforms, reaching tens of millions of individuals globally. As a result, the BBC has caused President Trump to experience significant financial and reputational damage,” Brito wrote on behalf of Trump.
“Consequently, the BBC lacks any valid defense against the substantial reputational and financial harm it has caused President Trump to suffer.”
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Trump’s legal team believes “the BBC’s utter disregard for the truth highlights the actual malice underlying the decision to publish the false content, considering the clear inaccuracy of the statements.”
The president demands “a comprehensive and fair retraction of the documentary and any other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in a manner as prominent as their original publication,” along with an immediate apology and compensation.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The BBC has already lost two top executives due to the situation, and it seems the problems could worsen for the British broadcaster. The letter from Trump’s legal team also instructs the BBC to preserve all documents or data relevant to a potential lawsuit.
“If the BBC does not comply with the above by November 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST, President Trump will have no option but to exercise his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and not waived, including initiating legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages. The BBC is hereby notified,” the letter concluded.
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Pressure on Davie increased after The Telegraph published excerpts from a whistleblower dossier prepared by Michael Prescott, a communications advisor employed by the BBC to assess its editorial standards. The documents were critical of certain aspects of BBC coverage, including the Trump edit, reporting on transgender issues, and alleged anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic service.
When Turness resigned, she stated that the controversy surrounding the Trump documentary “has escalated to a point where it is harming the BBC, an institution that I cherish. As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, I take full responsibility,” she added.
Before threatening legal action, Trump responded to the executives’ resignations in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
“The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th,” the president wrote. “Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to influence a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”
Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously called the BBC “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine” in an interview after allegations of bias at the broadcaster emerged. In an interview with The Telegraph she said, “This deliberately dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further proof that they are complete, 100% fake news that should no longer be worthy of airtime on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.
