<div id="readability-page-1"><div><div><div>Key points:<ul><li>BBC admits error of judgment but denies legal basis for lawsuit</li><li>Trump seeks $5 billion on each of two counts</li><li>BBC faces crisis, resignations over documentary edit</li></ul></div>By Jack Queen and David Thomas President Donald Trump sued the BBC on Monday for defamation over edited clips of a speech that made it appear he directed supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, opening an international front in his fight against media coverage he deems untrue or unfair. Trump accused Britain's publicly owned broadcaster of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021 speech, including one section where he told supporters to march on the Capitol and another where he said &#34;fight like hell&#34;. It omitted a section in which he called for peaceful protest.Trump's lawsuit alleges the BBC defamed him and violated a Florida law that bars deceptive and unfair trade practices. He is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the lawsuit's two counts.The BBC has apologized to Trump, admitted an error of judgment and acknowledged that the edit gave the mistaken impression that he had made a direct call for violent action. But it has said there is no legal basis to sue.Trump, in his lawsuit filed Monday in Miami federal court, said the BBC despite its apology &#34;has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses.&#34;The BBC is funded through a mandatory license fee on all TV viewers, which UK lawyers say could make any payout to Trump politically fraught.Trump's lawyers and a spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.A BBC spokesperson told Reuters earlier on Monday that it had &#34;no further contact from President Trump's lawyers at this point. Our position remains the same.&#34; The broadcaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the lawsuit was filed.CRISIS LED TO RESIGNATIONSFacing one of the biggest crises in its 103-year history, the BBC has said it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary on any of its platforms.The dispute over the clip, featured on the BBC's &#34;Panorama&#34; documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, sparked a public relations crisis for the broadcaster, leading to the resignations of its two most senior officials. Trump’s lawyers say the BBC caused him overwhelming reputational and financial harm.The documentary drew scrutiny after the leak of a BBC memo by an external standards adviser that raised concerns about how it was edited, part of a wider investigation of political bias at the publicly funded broadcaster.The documentary was not broadcast in the United States.Trump may have sued in the U.S. because defamation claims in Britain must be brought within a year of publication, a window that has closed for the &#34;Panorama&#34; episode. To overcome the U.S. Constitution’s legal protections for free speech and the press, Trump will need to prove not only that the edit was false and defamatory but also that the BBC knowingly misled viewers or acted recklessly. The broadcaster could argue that the documentary was substantially true and its editing decisions did not create a false impression, legal experts said. It could also claim the program did not damage Trump's reputation.Other media have settled with Trump, including CBS and ABC when Trump sued them following his comeback win in the November 2024 election.Trump has filed lawsuits against the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and a newspaper in Iowa, all three of which have denied wrongdoing.The attack on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 was aimed at blocking Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential win over Trump in the 2020 U.S. election. </div></div></div>

Former President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC, seeking $10 billion in damages. The lawsuit claims the BBC edited clips of his January 6, 2021 speech to falsely suggest he incited violence at the U.S. Capitol. The BBC admitted an error in judgment but denies the legal basis for the lawsuit. The controversy has led to a crisis at the BBC, including the resignation of two senior officials. Trump's lawsuit alleges significant reputational and financial harm.

Trump sues the BBC for defamation over editing of January 6 speech, seeks up to $10 billion in damages