BBC

The BBC has asked a US court to throw out Donald Trump’s $10bn (£7.5bn) lawsuit over the way a documentary edited one of his speeches, warning that proceeding with the case would have a “chilling effect” on its reporting on the president.

In papers filed to the Florida court dealing with the case, the BBC’s US lawyers claimed Trump’s reputation had not been damaged by the documentary, given it aired in the UK a week before his re-election.

The broadcaster’s lawyers also reiterated that the Panorama documentary, Trump: a Second Chance, was simply not published in the US, including Florida, meaning the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.

LONDON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC can go to trial in 2027, a U.S. judge has said.

Judge Roy K. Altman of the federal court for the Southern District of Florida rejected an attempt by Britain’s national broadcaster to delay proceedings.

He set a provisional start date of Feb. 15 2027 for a two-week trial. Altman’s court order was issued Wednesday.

Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way the BBC edited a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021. The claim seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices.

The BBC has told President Trump’s lawyers that it would fight his lawsuit for up to $5 billion, claiming nobody in America watched its misleading Panorama programme and it didn’t damage his reputation.

The broadcaster’s lawyers have responded robustly to Trump’s threat to sue billions for dollars in damages with a letter that clearly sets out the belief that it has no case to answer.

The BBC has been accused of doctoring footage of a Donald Trump speech on Newsnight two years before a similarly edited clip was shown on Panorama.

Footage of a speech given by the US President on January 6, 2021, was edited in a way that appeared to show him inciting his followers to storm the Capitol building in Washington DC.

It was shown in an episode of Newsnight in June 2022, more than two years before a similarly spliced clip was aired in a BBC Panorama documentary.

The BBC has apologised to US President Donald Trump for a Panorama episode that spliced parts of his 6 January 2021 speech together, but rejected his demands for compensation.

The corporation said the edit had given “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action” and said it would not show the 2024 programme again.

Lawyers for Trump have threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn (£759m) in damages unless the corporation issues a retraction, apologises and compensates him.