US President Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to sue the BBC for up to $5 billion, following the British broadcaster’s apology over a misleading edit of one of his speeches, though the BBC has stated it will not pay damages.
“We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion and five billion dollars, probably some time next week. I think I have to do it. They’ve even admitted that they cheated,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s legal team had sent the BBC a letter on Monday, accusing the network of defaming the president through the edited video of his speech before the 2021 US Capitol riot, giving the broadcaster until Friday to apologise and provide compensation.
“The people of the UK are very angry about what happened, as you can imagine, because it shows the BBC is fake news,” Trump said late Friday.
He also revealed plans to discuss the matter with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has defended the BBC’s independence but avoided taking sides.
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“I’m going to call him over the weekend. He actually put a call into me. He’s very embarrassed,” Trump added.
The BBC apologized on Monday for a documentary aired last year that suggested Trump had directly urged “violent action” immediately before the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
The controversy over the edited clip led to the resignations of the BBC’s director-general and its top news executive.
BBC officials confirmed Thursday that chairman Samir Shah had 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.”
However, the corporation emphasised: “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.”