LONDON: US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would likely sue the BBC next week for as much as $5 billion after the British broadcaster admitted it wrongly edited a video of a speech he gave but insisted there was no legal basis for his claim.
The British Broadcasting Corporation has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades after two senior leaders resigned following accusations of bias, including over the editing of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the Capitol.
Trump’s lawyers had initially set a Friday deadline for the BBC to retract its documentary or face a lawsuit for “no less” than $1 billion. They also demanded an apology and compensation for what they called “overwhelming reputational and financial harm,” according to a letter seen by Reuters.
The BBC, which has admitted its editing of Trump’s remarks was an “error of judgment,” sent a personal apology to Trump on Thursday but said it would not rebroadcast the documentary and rejected the defamation claim.
“We’ll sue them for anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to Florida for the weekend.
“I think I have to do that, I mean they’ve even admitted that they cheated,” he said. “They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
Trump said he had not spoken with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom he has built a solid relationship, about the issue, but that he planned to call him this weekend. He said Starmer had tried to reach him, and was “very embarrassed” by the incident.
The documentary, which aired on the BBC’s flagship “Panorama” news program, spliced together three video excerpts from Trump’s speech, creating the impression he was inciting the January 6, 2021, riot. His lawyers said this was “false and defamatory.”
’BEYOND FAKE, THIS IS CORRUPT’
In an interview with British right-leaning TV channel GB News, Trump said the edit was “impossible to believe” and compared it to election interference.
“I made a beautiful statement, and they made it into a not beautiful statement,” he said. “Fake news was a great term, except it’s not strong enough. This is beyond fake, this is corrupt.”
Trump said the BBC’s apology was not enough.
“When you say it’s unintentional, I guess if it’s unintentional, you don’t apologize,” he said. “They clipped together two parts of the speech that were nearly an hour apart. It’s incredible to depict the idea that I had given this aggressive speech which led to riots. One was making me into a bad guy, and the other was a very calming statement.”
BBC APOLOGY, NO PLANS TO REBROADCAST
BBC Chair Samir Shah sent a personal apology on Thursday to the White House and told lawmakers the edit was “an error of judgment.” The following day, British culture minister Lisa Nandy said the apology was “right and necessary.”
The broadcaster said it had no plans to rebroadcast the documentary and was investigating fresh allegations about editing practices that included the speech on another program, “Newsnight.”
BIGGEST CRISIS IN DECADES
The dispute has escalated into the broadcaster’s most serious crisis in decades. Its director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness quit this week over the controversy amid allegations of bias and editing failures.
Starmer told parliament on Wednesday he supported a “strong and independent BBC” but said the broadcaster must “get its house in order.”
“Some would rather the BBC didn’t exist. Some of them are sitting up there,” he said, pointing to opposition Conservative lawmakers.
“I’m not one of them. In an age of disinformation, the argument for an impartial British news service is stronger than ever.”
The BBC, founded in 1922 and funded mainly by a compulsory license fee, faces scrutiny over whether public money could be used to settle Trump’s claim.
Former media minister John Whittingdale said there would be “real anger” if license payers’ money covered damages.
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Trump says he will likely sue the BBC for up to $5 billion over edited speech
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Trump says he will likely sue the BBC for up to $5 billion over edited speech
- the British broadcaster admitted it wrongly edited a video of a speech he gave but insisted there was no legal basis for his claim
Ukraine’s Zelensky meets Pope Leo, prepares revised plan on Russia war
- UKrainian leader said that Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV in Italy on Tuesday as he prepared to send the United States revised proposals to end Russia’s invasion.
Zelensky on Monday held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels as US President Donald Trump keeps up pressure on Kyiv for a settlement.
Trump has accused Zelensky of not even reading his administration’s initial proposals, which were judged by Ukraine’s allies to be overly favorable to Russia.
Zelensky said that Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend.
Ukrainian and European officials “are going to work on these 20 points,” Zelensky told an online press conference on Monday.
“We do not like everything that our partners came back with. Although this issue is not so much with the Americans as with the Russians.
“But we will definitely work on it, and as I said, tomorrow evening (Tuesday) we will do everything to send our view on this to the US.”
Washington’s plan involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
Zelensky pointed to the land issue and international security guarantees as two of the main sticking points.
“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Zelensky said.
“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” Zelensky said.
‘Robust security guarantees’
Zelensky met with Pope Leo at his country residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, and is to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later Tuesday.
Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more skeptical.
Rome has sent weapons to Ukraine but only for use inside the country. Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.
The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorization due to end on December 31. Salvini has reportedly questioned if it was necessary given the new talks.
However, Meloni at the time insisted that “as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself.”
On Monday, Zelensky met in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany before heading to Brussels for talks with the heads of the EU and of NATO.
“Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defense for our Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after Monday’s meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that “we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Macron said the “main issue” was finding “convergence” between the European-Ukrainian position and that of the United States.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war had failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
Zelensky on Monday held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels as US President Donald Trump keeps up pressure on Kyiv for a settlement.
Trump has accused Zelensky of not even reading his administration’s initial proposals, which were judged by Ukraine’s allies to be overly favorable to Russia.
Zelensky said that Washington’s 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend.
Ukrainian and European officials “are going to work on these 20 points,” Zelensky told an online press conference on Monday.
“We do not like everything that our partners came back with. Although this issue is not so much with the Americans as with the Russians.
“But we will definitely work on it, and as I said, tomorrow evening (Tuesday) we will do everything to send our view on this to the US.”
Washington’s plan involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
Zelensky pointed to the land issue and international security guarantees as two of the main sticking points.
“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Zelensky said.
“The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question,” Zelensky said.
‘Robust security guarantees’
Zelensky met with Pope Leo at his country residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, and is to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later Tuesday.
Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more skeptical.
Rome has sent weapons to Ukraine but only for use inside the country. Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.
The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorization due to end on December 31. Salvini has reportedly questioned if it was necessary given the new talks.
However, Meloni at the time insisted that “as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself.”
On Monday, Zelensky met in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany before heading to Brussels for talks with the heads of the EU and of NATO.
“Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defense for our Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after Monday’s meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that “we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Macron said the “main issue” was finding “convergence” between the European-Ukrainian position and that of the United States.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war had failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
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