The British Broadcasting Corporation issued an apology for misleadingly editing former President Donald Trump’s speech from January 6, 2021, but rejected his demand for $1 billion in compensation.
The public broadcaster’s formal apology, published on its “Corrections and Clarifications” page on Thursday, November 13, 2025, acknowledged that the editing created a false impression of a continuous statement. The BBC admitted the doctored clip caused a “misunderstanding that President Trump directly called for violence” during the U.S. Capitol riot.
Trump’s legal team had threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion unless a retraction, apology, and “appropriate compensation” were provided by a Friday deadline.
A BBC spokesperson confirmed lawyers responded to Trump’s team. Separately, BBC Chairman Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House directly apologizing to President Trump for the edited video clip.
Despite the apology for the editing, the BBC maintained it “strongly disagree[s] that there are grounds for a defamation lawsuit.”
The controversy has already led to significant internal repercussions. BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness resigned hours before the public apology.
The BBC also confirmed it would not re-air the documentary, “Trump: A Second Chance?”, which featured the edited footage.
The Panorama documentary, aired in 2024, showed Trump saying, “We will walk to the Capitol… and I will be there with you, and we will fight, we will fight like hell” as if it were a continuous statement.
In his original January 6, 2021, speech, Trump first said, “We will walk to the Capitol and we will cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” Approximately 50 minutes later in the same speech, he said, “And we will fight, we will fight like hell.”
Trump criticized the editing on Fox News, calling the presentation “deceptive to viewers.”
Adding to the BBC’s troubles, the Daily Telegraph recently reported another similarly edited clip aired on the Newsnight program in 2022. The BBC stated it is investigating this new allegation.