President Trump says he will likely sue BBC for up to $5 billion over edited speech

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is likely to sue the BBC for up to $5 billion next week after the British broadcaster admitted that it incorrectly edited a video of his speech but insisted his claims had no legal basis.

The British Broadcasting Corporation is in the midst of its biggest crisis in decades, with two executives resigning amid accusations of bias and other charges related to the editing of a speech made when President Trump’s supporters stormed the Houses of Parliament on January 6, 2021.

Mr Trump’s lawyers had originally set a Friday deadline for the BBC to withdraw the documentary or face a lawsuit of “at least” $1 billion.

They also demanded an apology and compensation for what they called “overwhelming reputational and economic damage,” according to the letter seen by Reuters.

The BBC, which acknowledged it made an “error in judgment” in editing Trump’s remarks, sent a personal apology to Trump on Thursday but said it would not rebroadcast the documentary and dismissed the defamation claim.

“We’ll probably file a lawsuit within the next week for between $1 billion and $5 billion,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Florida over the weekend.

“I think they have to. I mean, they even admitted to wrongdoing,” he said. “They changed the words that came out of my mouth.”

President Trump has not discussed the issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom he has a strong relationship, but said he planned to call him this weekend. He said Mr Starmer had tried to contact him but was “very embarrassed” by what had happened.

The documentary, aired on the BBC’s flagship news program Panorama, stitched together three video excerpts from President Trump’s speeches to create the impression that Trump was inciting the riots on January 6, 2021. His lawyer said this was “false and defamatory”.

In an interview with Britain’s right-wing TV station GB News, President Trump called the edits “unbelievable” and likened them to election interference.

“I made a beautiful statement, and they made it a less beautiful statement,” he said. “Fake news was a great word, except it wasn’t strong enough. This is beyond fake, it’s corrupt.”

President Trump said the BBC’s apology was not enough. “If you say it wasn’t intentional, I don’t think you would apologize if it wasn’t intentional,” he said. “They cut two parts of a speech nearly an hour apart. It’s incredible to portray the idea that I gave this offensive speech and incited a riot. One was to demonize me, and the other was a very calming statement.”

BBC chairman Sameer Shah sent a personal apology to the White House on Thursday, telling MPs that the editing was an “error in judgment”.

The next day, British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the apology was “right and necessary”.

The broadcaster said it had no plans to rebroadcast the documentary and was investigating new allegations about its editorial practices, including a speech on another show, “Newsnight.”

The dispute has escalated into the broadcaster’s most serious crisis in decades. Citing controversy surrounding allegations of bias and editorial errors, the agency’s executive director, Tim Davey, and news division chief, Deborah Turness, resigned this week.

Mr Starmer told parliament on Wednesday that he supported a “strong and independent BBC” but said the broadcaster needed to “clean up internally”.

“There are some people who wish the BBC never existed. Some of them are sitting there,” he said, referring to opposition Conservative MPs.

“I am not one of them. In an age of disinformation, the case for an impartial British news agency is stronger than ever.”

The BBC, which was founded in 1922 and is primarily funded by compulsory license fees, has faced intense scrutiny over whether public funds can be used to settle Mr Trump’s claims.

Former media minister John Whittingdale said there would be “real outrage” if the damages were covered by license fee payers’ money.