By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – The BBC on Friday said in a statement that “BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House made clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme,”.
The British Broadcasting Corporation sent a letter of apology to US President Donald Trump for a Panorama episode that distorted parts of his 6 January 2021 speech, but rejected his demands for compensation, as per media reports.
Lawyers for Trump had threatened to sue the BBC for USD1 billion (£759 million) unless the corporation issued a retraction, apologized, and compensated him.
The corporation acknowledged that the edit had given “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action” and said it would not air the 2024 programme again.
BBC also categorically denied that there are grounds for a defamation claim in this case and refused to satisfy Trump’s demands for compensation.
The controversy has seen major fallout at the broadcaster.
BBC Director General Tim Davie and Executive Director Deborah Turness resigned last Sunday after widespread criticism of the BBC’s misrepresentation of Trump’s 2021 speech.
The BBC’s 2024 documentary distorted Trump’s remarks, giving the false impression that he had encouraged the Capitol riots, The Telegraph reported.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called BBC “100 percent fake news,” while Trump himself branded the BBC’s journalists corrupt and its leadership dishonest.
Fox News reported that the Trump administration called on the BBC to either apologize for editing the president’s speech or face a USD 1 billion lawsuit.
Trump said that he is obligated to file a defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
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