The BBC has formally apologised to US President Donald Trump over a misleading edit in its Panorama documentary.
The apology, issued on Thursday, comes amid Trump’s threat to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion (around €860 million), claiming the program misrepresented a speech he delivered to supporters in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, just before Congress was set to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
According to reports, the documentary spliced together two segments of Trump’s speech that were more than 50 minutes apart, creating the false impression that he was inciting the Capitol riot. The edited footage also omitted a portion where Trump urged his supporters to act peacefully.
While the BBC apologised, it maintained that the matter does not provide grounds for a defamation lawsuit.
The controversy surrounding the documentary, which aired days before the 2024 US presidential election, has already led to the resignations of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News Chief Executive Deborah Turness.