BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for Panorama Trump edit

Donald Trump has threatened to take legal action against the BBC following criticism that a speech by the US president was edited and used in a Panorama documentary.

Its legal team has given the BBC until 14 November to “fully and fairly withdraw” the documentary or face a $1bn (£760m) compensation claim.

A. BBC internal memo leaked He said the program misled viewers by splicing together two parts of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, making it seem as if he was openly urging people to attack the US Capitol after his election defeat.

The BBC’s outgoing news chief executive, Deborah Turness, insisted the company was not “institutionally biased” following her resignation alongside chief executive Tim Davie.

Their resignations came on Sunday following mounting pressure following last week’s broadcast. Telegram A memo written by Michael Prescott, former independent external counsel to the publisher’s editorial standards committee.

The manifesto accuses the BBC of problems with its coverage of Gaza, anti-Trump and anti-Israel bias, and one-sided transgender coverage, among other “problematic issues”. It also highlights Panorama editing.

On Monday, BBC chief Samir Shah acknowledged an “error of judgement” had been made in the documentary and that the edited speech gave the impression of a “direct call to action”, and said the BBC wanted to apologize for it.

But responding to a letter from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, he said it was “absolutely not true” that the memo had revealed problems the BBC had “tried to bury” and that it was also untrue to suggest the BBC had done nothing to address the concerns raised in the memo.

Trump’s letter, obtained by the BBC on Sunday, demands an apology and calls for the company to “pay appropriate compensation” to the president.

He accuses the BBC of making “false, defamatory, derogatory, misleading and inflammatory statements” about him.

Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito also accused the BBC of defamation under Florida law.

Shah said the following in his letter to the committee: The BBC had received more than 500 complaints since the note was published.

He said the Panorama edit was discussed by the committee as part of a wider review of the BBC’s US election coverage in January and May this year.

He added that Prescott and some committee members expressed concerns about it at the time.

Shah added that he “also heard from BBC News that the purpose of editing the clip was to convey the message of the speech.”

This was so Panorama’s viewers could “better understand how President Trump was received by his supporters and what was happening on the ground at the time.”

He explained that this issue was not pursued further “given that it did not receive significant feedback from viewers and was reported before the US elections.”

He added: “In hindsight, it would have been better to have taken more formal action.”

In Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, he said: “We will march to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators, congressmen, and women.”

He was seen saying on the Panorama program: “We’re going to march towards the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we’re fighting. We’re fighting like hell.”

There was initially a difference of more than 50 minutes between the two episodes stitched together.

Davie said on Sunday that the “current controversy” around the company was not the sole reason for his decision to resign, but “understandably contributed” to it.

“Overall the BBC is performing well but some mistakes have been made and as chief executive I must take ultimate responsibility.”

Turness, who has overseen the news and current affairs programs since 2022, said the company was “not institutionally biased” in his first public statement since announcing his resignation on Monday.

“Mistakes are made” but BBC journalists “are hard-working people who strive for impartiality,” he told reporters outside the broadcaster’s London headquarters.

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said the prime minister did not believe the BBC was “institutionally biased”.

No 10 also denied that the BBC was “corrupt”; it was a word Trump used to describe some journalists.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said there had been “serious questions that have needed to be answered for a long time” at the BBC and that the documentary incident was a “real problem”.

Prescott had also expressed concern about the lack of action to address what he called “systemic problems” of bias in BBC Arabic’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.

And he voiced concerns about the broadcaster’s coverage of trans issues, suggesting it was effectively “censored” by specialist LGBT reporters promoting a pro-trans agenda.

Shah’s letter stated that these issues, including concerns about BBC Arabic, were discussed by the editorial standards committee.

It said the review of gender and gender identity coverage found that “the majority of coverage met the BBC’s standards of impartiality and accuracy”.

He said the committee “recognised that there were occasions when the BBC got things wrong” and would take action where necessary, including disciplinary measures, updating guidelines and making corrections.

“Mr. Prescott may have decided that these individual actions were not sufficient.

“This is his opinion and, of course, it is his responsibility to make that decision. But it is not true to say that concerns were ignored or action was not taken.”

In an interview with the BBC’s culture editor Katie Razzall, Shah insisted it was “absolutely not true” that the organization had done nothing to address the problems, citing crackdowns on the BBC’s Arabic service and long-form journalism unit.

He also defended the BBC against allegations that it had an “anti-Israeli” bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.

He said several issues raised by Prescott were taken seriously, including “individual mistakes and underlying issues” and added that action had been taken and taken regarding both, but dismissed allegations of systemic bias.

The US president has a long history of taking or threatening legal action against media organizations, with varying consequences.

In July, the BBC’s US partner CBS News and its parent company Paramount settled for $16 million (£13.5 million) following legal action alleging an interview Trump gave with then-vice president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election was deceptively edited.

The New York Times, CNN and the Des Moines Register also faced legal action from Trump.