Trump says lawsuit against BBC to be filed soon

US President Donald Trump said he will likely soon sue the British BBC over the editing of a speech he gave on the day his supporters stormed the US Capitol in 2021.

“You’ll soon see me suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth. They literally put words in my mouth. They made me say things I never said I could explain,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He added that the case against the UK public broadcaster could be filed on Monday afternoon (Tuesday AEDT) or Tuesday morning (Wednesday AEDT).

The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has stated that he intends to seek billions of dollars in damages in connection with the BBC documentary examining his role in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The documentary, which aired on the broadcaster’s flagship Panorama news program, combined three video excerpts from Trump’s speech to create the impression that he incited the riot.

Trump has denied responsibility for the incident, which was aimed at preventing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 US presidential election.

The BBC acknowledged the edit was an “error of judgement” and apologized to Trump, but said its claim had no legal basis.