US President Donald Trump has threatened the BBC with a $1bn lawsuit over the enhancing of a 2021 speech he gave shortly earlier than protesters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump’s threat on Monday evening is the newest flip in a saga which has embroiled the company for the previous week, following the leak of a memo which criticised the BBC’s impartiality in a variety of areas of its protection.
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Specifically, the memo, which was written by a former BBC journalist and unbiased marketing consultant to the BBC’s Editorial Tips and Requirements Board, Michal Prescott, singled out the deceptive enhancing of Trump’s speech, which was featured in a Panorama documentary aired shortly earlier than the US election final yr.
The leaked memo has prompted outrage, largely from right-wing media organisations and politicians, and prompted the resignations of Director-Basic Tim Davie and information CEO Deborah Turness on Sunday.
As a public broadcaster that’s funded by a compulsory licence charge for all households in possession of a tv, the BBC faces intense scrutiny from all sides of the political divide, with some claiming it’s too conservative in its protection, and others saying it’s too left-leaning.
The organisation has additionally weathered a number of scandals lately over the behaviour of a few of its presenters, in addition to complaints from its journalists over its protection of Israel’s conflict on Gaza.
This yr, it was pressured to drop former skilled footballer and sports activities commentator Gary Lineker over a pro-Palestine Instagram publish that was broadly seen as anti-Semitic.
Some media insiders say that is all a part of a push by right-wing figures within the BBC to reassert management over the BBC’s editorial content material. Chatting with Radio 4’s flagship At this time information programme on Monday, David Yelland, former editor of the Solar newspaper, stated Davie and Turness have been the victims of a “coup”.
The Guardian newspaper cited a “BBC insider” who stated that board member Robbie Gibb, who’s a private good friend of Prescott, had “led the cost”.
Gibb additionally served as director of communications for Conservative Prime Minister Theresa Could and was an editorial adviser on the right-leaning GB Information, earlier than being appointed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the BBC board in 2021. Gibb additionally sits on the Editorial Tips and Requirements Committee (EGSC) together with BBC chair and committee head Samir Shah, Tim Davie and unbiased director Caroline Thomson.
The BBC, responding to queries from the Guardian, stated Gibb was solely one of many 4 board members who accredited Prescott as a marketing consultant to EGSC. Prescott, in his memo, stated he had no political affiliations.
It is a timeline of occasions main as much as the Trump Panorama documentary scandal this week.
A number of the dates highlighted listed here are taken from a letter despatched by chair Samir Shah to parliament on Monday, and from the memo despatched by Michael Prescott to BBC board members.
October 28, 2024: BBC Panorama programme airs
An hour-long BBC Panorama documentary titled, Trump: A Second Likelihood? was broadcast one week earlier than the US presidential elections.
In it, two separate elements of a speech made by Trump earlier than the Capitol Hill riots in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, have been spliced collectively by editors.
This enhancing appeared that Trump had actively inspired the riots, which turned violent. The edited clip confirmed Trump saying, “We’re going to stroll all the way down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you. And we combat. We combat like hell.”
Nevertheless, transcripts from Trump’s speech present that he first stated, “We’re going to stroll all the way down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our courageous senators and congressmen and girls, and we’re in all probability not going to be cheering a lot for a few of them.”
Then, almost a complete hour later, he stated, “We combat like hell. And if you happen to don’t combat like hell, you’re not going to have a rustic anymore.” He was in a roundabout way referencing the march on the Capitol within the second half, and the Panorama documentary didn’t embody an element the place Trump stated he needed supporters to “peacefully” make their voices heard.
January 16, 2025: Panorama documentary mentioned by EGSC
Issues in regards to the enhancing of the Trump speech have been raised at a gathering of the BBC’s Editorial Tips and Requirements Board (EGSB). Nevertheless, this was raised as a part of common reflections on protection of the elections, in accordance with Samir Shah.
Prescott raised issues, Shah stated, however the committee additionally heard from the information division, which stated it was edited to “higher convey the message of the speech”. Suggestions was despatched to the Panorama crew, however no formal motion was taken, Shah stated.
Prescott later wrote in his memo that EGSC marketing consultant David Grossman additionally delivered a report throughout the assembly displaying the BBC had been biased in its protection of Trump, and appeared to favour Democratic Get together candidate Kamala Harris.
February 2025: BBC pressured to take away Gaza documentary
In February, the UK’s media regulator, Ofcom, stated a BBC documentary about Palestinian kids residing by way of Israel’s war on Gaza had damaged guidelines on impartiality because it was narrated by the 13-year-old son of a deputy agriculture minister within the Hamas-run authorities.
5 days after it was broadcast, the BBC eliminated the documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Conflict Zone, from its on-line streaming platform.
Could 12, 2025: Panorama documentary mentioned once more by EGSC
In keeping with Prescott’s memo, a senior member of the information crew once more defended the Panorama enhancing, saying, “There was no try and mislead the viewers in regards to the content material or nature of Mr Trump’s speech earlier than the riot on the Capitol. It’s regular follow to edit speeches into brief kind clips.”
Prescott added that Turness additionally justified the enhancing at this assembly.
Could 13, 2025: Prescott emails issues to BBC chair Samir Shah
In his memo, Prescott stated he emailed Samir Shah the next day to elucidate his issues, saying, “It is a very, very harmful precedent. I hope you agree and take some type of motion to make sure this doubtlessly enormous drawback is nipped within the bud.”
Prescott stated he acquired no reply.
June 2025: Evaluate of the EGSC’s processes begins
This was undertaken by Chris Saul, a authorized marketing consultant who has been tasked with earlier opinions of the transparency of BBC processes since 2019. The particular points he was requested to report on for this evaluation, and the outcomes, are unclear.
June 2025: Prescott leaves the BBC
In some unspecified time in the future after this, Prescott despatched his detailed memo to all board members together with a canopy letter stating his “despair” at being ignored by senior information leaders.
The memo accused the BBC of “deceptive” edits, and claimed the BBC Arabic service had proven anti-Israel bias by over-emphasising tales essential of Israel. Prescott’s memo stated BBC protection was “misrepresenting” the variety of girls and kids killed in Gaza, and in addition wrongly introduced protection on hunger within the besieged enclave.
At one level, Prescott appeared to take a swipe at Al Jazeera: When a senior information member defended BBC Arabic in conferences, saying it was virtually as trusted as Al Jazeera, Prescott questioned if Al Jazeera “is the gold commonplace” the BBC ought to aspire to.
The memo additional criticised what he referred to as the BBC’s “one-sided” trans rights protection, claiming tales highlighting girls’s rights organisations and others who have been essential of the trans rights motion had been suppressed.
July 2025: BBC journalists complain about Gaza protection
In July, an inside BBC investigation discovered that the documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Conflict Zone, which was faraway from its web site in February, had breached its editorial tips on accuracy.
Greater than 100 journalists working for the BBC wrote a letter protesting this and claimed they have been being pressured to “do Israel’s PR”.
“We consider the refusal to broadcast the documentary ‘Gaza: Medics Underneath Hearth’ is only one in a protracted line of agenda pushed selections,” the journalists wrote. “It demonstrates, as soon as once more, that the BBC isn’t reporting ‘with out worry or favour’ on the subject of Israel.”
October 17, 2025: Prescott’s memo is reviewed at a full board assembly
Shah stated he met Prescott afterwards to debate “subsequent steps”.
November 3, 2025: Prescott’s memo is leaked to the Each day Telegraph
This was the primary time the contents of the memo entered the general public area. The proper-wing broadsheet newspaper accused the BBC of doctoring the Trump speech and reported that Prescott had revealed “systemic issues” which BBC administration had failed to handle.
November 4, 2025: Parliamentary committee writes to BBC chair
Parliament’s Tradition, Media and Sport Committee, led by Conservative chair Caroline Dinenage, wrote to Samir Shah requesting entry to Prescott’s full report, and demanding to know what actions had been taken by the BBC in response to the memo when it was first despatched.
Dinenage additionally requested an replace in regards to the EGSC evaluation, which started in June. “The BBC clearly has severe inquiries to reply relating to each its editorial requirements and the way in which during which issues are dealt with by senior administration,” Dinenage wrote within the letter.
She added that members of parliament “should be reassured that these on the very high of the BBC are treating these points with the seriousness they deserve”.
November 4, 2025: BBC pushes again
In a press release, a BBC spokesperson stated, “Whereas we don’t touch upon leaked paperwork, when the BBC receives suggestions, it takes it significantly and considers it rigorously.”
November 4, 2025: Memo mentioned at heated BBC board assembly
In keeping with reporting by the Guardian newspaper, Gibb was current at this assembly and was one of many board members who pressed CEO Turness over Prescott’s claims. Gibb had additionally pressed Turness on the memo in an earlier board assembly, The Guardian reported.
November 5, 2025: Prescott to provide proof to Parliament
The parliamentary web site introduced that Michael Prescott would give proof to the Tradition, Media and Sport Committee on Wednesday, November 12 at 10am, because the UK authorities ready to launch a evaluation of the BBC usually prematurely renewal of its Royal Constitution, which units the phrases for its operations, and which is due in 2027. In a later replace, the session was postponed to an as-yet-undisclosed date.
November 7, 2025: The White Home feedback
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticised the BBC in an interview with The Each day Telegraph following the leak. Leavitt stated watching the BBC on her journeys to the UK “ruins” her day and that the BBC is “100% faux information” and a “propaganda machine”.
November 7, 2025: Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson steps in
In a column within the right-wing Each day Mail newspaper, Johnson accused Director-Basic Tim Davie of failing to supply any explanations in regards to the difficulty of impartiality on the BBC following the leak.
“Nobody has even come near resigning,” he wrote.
Johnson accused the BBC of being a “type of mouthpiece for Hamas”, and added that till Davie responded to the memo, “I’m merely going to cease paying my licence charge and recommend you do the identical.”
November 9, 2025: Davie and Turness resign
Director-Basic Tim Davie stated “final accountability” lay with him, and that he had determined to resign after “reflecting on the very intense private {and professional} calls for of managing this function over a few years in these febrile occasions”.
Chief govt of BBC Information, Deborah Turness stated the “buck stops with me”. She added that “whereas errors have been made, I wish to be completely clear current allegations that BBC Information is institutionally biased are fallacious”.
November 9, 2025: US President Donald Trump weighs in
Trump reacted triumphantly to the information of the resignations on his Fact Social community.
He wrote: “The TOP folks within the BBC, together with TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, as a result of they have been caught ‘doctoring’ my excellent (PERFECT!) speech of January sixth. Thanks to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt “Journalists.” These are very dishonest individuals who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On high of all the things else, they’re from a Overseas Nation, one which many take into account our Quantity One Ally. What a horrible factor for Democracy!”
November 10, 2025: Samir Shah denies institutional bias
The BBC chair and head of the EGSC, Shah responded to Parliament’s letter of November 4.
Shah stated lots of the points Prescott raised have been already beneath evaluation.
He pushed again in opposition to claims by Prescott that administration had not acted on the factors raised relating to the Trump documentary.
Shah wrote, “There was concern expressed by members of the Committee in addition to Mr Prescott of the way in which programme was edited. Nevertheless, the EGSC additionally heard from BBC Information that the aim of enhancing the clip was to convey the message of the speech made by President Trump in order that Panorama’s viewers might higher perceive the way it had been acquired by President Trump’s supporters and what was occurring on the bottom at the moment.”
He stated he met with Prescott after an October 17 board assembly to debate the problems and subsequent steps.
Shah apologised for the BBC’s “error of judgement” over the enhancing of Trump’s speech, however stated there was no institutional bias on the BBC.
He additionally laid out steps being taken to evaluation the problems Prescott had raised and to overtake the EGSC extra usually.
November 10, 2025: Trump threatens $1bn regulation swimsuit
US President Donald Trump threatened a $1bn lawsuit through a letter to the BBC from his counsel, Alejandro Brito, alleging “malicious, disparaging” edits.
The letter demanded a retraction of the documentary, an apology, and funds to “appropriately compensate President Trump for the hurt precipitated”.
The broadcaster has been given till Friday 22:00 GMT to reply or, Trump’s lawyer stated, he shall be: “left with no various however to implement his authorized and equitable rights, all of that are expressly reserved and aren’t waived, together with by submitting authorized motion for a minimum of $1,000,000,000 in damages. The BBC is on discover. PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY”.
November 11, 2025: BBC bosses handle employees
Outgoing Director-Basic Davie and BBC chair Samir Shah spoke to employees for 40 minutes. Davie admitted a “mistake” within the Panorama documentary and stated that strain following criticism of the movie had contributed to his resolution to resign. Nevertheless, he additionally sounded a defiant word, and informed employees, “I believe we’ve bought to combat for our journalism.”
