BBC Director General Tim Davie has urged staff to “fight for our journalism” after former US President Donald Trump threatened to sue the corporation for $1 billion (£760 million) over a
disputed Panorama programme.
The warning came during an internal staff call on Tuesday, following Davie’s resignation on Sunday alongside BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness. Both stepped down amid mounting controversy over a leaked memo suggesting the Panorama film had “misled viewers” by editing parts of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech in a way that appeared to encourage the Capitol Hill riots.
“We have made some mistakes that have cost us, but we need to fight,” Davie told staff, adding: “This narrative will not just be given by our enemies — it’s our narrative.”
He defended the BBC’s record, saying the corporation had “been through difficult times… but it just does good work, and that speaks louder than any newspaper or weaponisation.”
Trump’s legal threat
Trump’s legal team has demanded a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary by Friday, threatening a $1 billion lawsuit if the BBC does not comply. The corporation said it will respond “in due course.”
BBC Chair Samir Shah, in a letter to Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS) on Monday, apologised for what he described as an “error of judgement” in the film’s editing, saying it gave the false impression of a “direct call for violent action.”
During Tuesday’s all-staff meeting, neither Davie nor Shah directly addressed Trump’s legal threat. Davie said his resignation was partly due to the “editorial breach” and the need to “take responsibility,” as well as personal pressures and the timing of the upcoming BBC charter renewal.
Shah defended the corporation’s decision not to immediately respond to the leaked memo, saying, “We had a deadline — that was Monday — and we met that. I needed to be careful and get it right.”
No timeline has yet been set for appointing Davie’s successor, though Shah confirmed the BBC is now in “succession mode.”
Political reaction
In Parliament, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the BBC from what she called “sustained attacks” by politicians.
“Concerns about editorial failings are serious,” she said, “but there’s a fundamental difference between raising concerns and attacking the institution itself. The BBC is essential to this country — not just a broadcaster, but a national institution. It is a light on the hill here and around the world.”
Nandy confirmed that the once-a-decade review of the BBC’s royal charter will begin soon, promising a “fiercely independent” and “genuinely accountable” corporation.
The CMS committee announced plans to hold an evidence session with members of the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee, including Shah and board members Robbie Gibb and Caroline Thomson.
Shadow Culture Secretary Nigel Huddleston said the BBC “needs saving from itself,” calling for “institutional change, not just a few people at the top.”
Downing Street declined to comment on Trump’s lawsuit threat, saying it was “a matter for the BBC.” A government spokesperson reiterated that “the BBC is independent” and said Prime Minister Keir Starmer maintains a “very strong” relationship with Trump.
The disputed edit
The controversy centres on Panorama’s editing of Trump’s 6 January speech. In the programme, Trump is shown saying:
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol... and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
In reality, the “fight like hell” remark was made more than 50 minutes later in the speech, in a different context referring to alleged election corruption.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens told BBC Breakfast that Trump’s legal case would likely face jurisdictional hurdles since Panorama was not broadcast in the United States and is unavailable on BBC iPlayer there.
George Freeman, former assistant general counsel at The New York Times, dismissed Trump’s $1 billion claim as “meaningless,” saying US courts would require proof of a “gross distortion” that intentionally altered meaning and damaged reputation.
The Panorama episode, originally broadcast on 24 October 2024, is no longer available on iPlayer as it is over a year old. Photo by Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Wikimedia commons.