BBC apologises over Trump documentary edit, declines compensation

The BBC has apologised over allegations of misediting former US president Donald Trump’s speech in a Panorama documentary. However, the organisation has refused to provide any compensation.

After the documentary aired, Trump threatened a 1 billion dollar compensation claim. Last Monday, his lawyers sent a letter to the BBC, giving a deadline until Friday and demanding the withdrawal of the documentary, an apology and ‘appropriate compensation’.

A BBC spokesperson said that after receiving the letter on Sunday, the BBC’s lawyers sent a formal reply to Trump’s legal team. In addition, BBC chairman Samir Shah sent a personal letter directly to the White House. In the letter, he expressed regret for showing the edited part of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech in the documentary. He also stated that there were no plans to re-air the disputed documentary.

The spokesperson said, ‘The BBC sincerely apologises for the way the video clip was edited. However, we do not agree with the claim that there is any basis for a defamation allegation.’

In a ‘correction and clarification’ published last Thursday, the BBC stated that after criticism over Trump’s remarks, the Panorama episode was reviewed. The review found that separate parts of Trump’s speech had been shown together in the documentary.

The statement said, ‘Our editing unintentionally created the impression that Trump’s entire speech was shown consecutively. In reality, different segments of the speech were shown. This may have wrongly suggested that president Trump had directly called for violence.’