The United Kingdom Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, has defended the decision of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to stand firm against United States President Donald Trump, after the U.S. president filed a $10bn lawsuit against the broadcaster over the editing of a Panorama programme.
Stephen Kinnock said it is “right that the BBC stand firm” against Trump’s claims of defamation and added that he hoped “they will continue to do so”.
The lawsuit has increased pressure on the UK government to publicly back the BBC as Trump seeks billions of dollars in damages, alleging the corporation unfairly edited a speech he delivered to supporters in Washington before the US Capitol riot in 2021.
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to support the broadcaster, urging him to “stand up for the BBC against Trump’s outrageous legal threat”.
“The Trump administration has clearly set out they want to interfere in our democracy, which includes undermining our national broadcaster. The prime minister needs to make clear this is unacceptable,” Davey said.
Speaking to Sky News, Kinnock said the BBC had already acknowledged errors in the programme but rejected claims of wider wrongdoing.
“I think they have apologised for one or two of the mistakes that were made in that Panorama programme, but they’ve also been very clear that there is no case to answer in terms of Trump’s accusations on the broader point about libel or defamation,” he said.
“The government is a massive supporter of the BBC. The Labour party will always stand up for the BBC as a vitally important institution.
“Yes, there were some mistakes made in that particular piece of film, but I think the broader argument that they were making, they’re right to stick by their guns on that and I hope that they will continue to do so.”
In the complaint filed in Florida, Trump is seeking $5bn in damages on two counts, alleging defamation and violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. He claims the BBC “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively” edited his January 6 speech.
The Panorama programme, broadcast just over a year ago, edited together remarks made nearly an hour apart to suggest Trump told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC has admitted the edit was an “error of judgment” and issued an apology to Trump, but has maintained there is no legal basis for a defamation claim. The controversy led to the resignations last month of BBC director general Tim Davie and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness.
Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of the Trump-supporting US network Newsmax, said the BBC should consider settling the case.
“I don’t think it’s good for the BBC for this to go forward,” Ruddy said, adding: “The purpose here for the president is not to get $5bn, it’s to demonstrate a point and maybe also get some money.”
He predicted a settlement of about $10m (£7.5m) and estimated the BBC’s legal costs could reach between $50m and $100m.
“Just having the case go on, probably the BBC would lose in the sense of public perception,” Ruddy told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He added that US discovery rules could expose internal BBC communications, increasing pressure to settle.
Trump has recently secured settlements from major US media companies following defamation claims. ABC, owned by Disney, agreed to pay $15m, while Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, settled a separate case for $16m.
The lawsuit against the BBC was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, despite BBC iPlayer and BBC One not being available in the US. The Panorama episode did not air there, and the BBC is expected to argue the programme had no meaningful impact on Trump’s reputation among American audiences.
- The Guardian (UK)