BBC right to ‘stand firm’ in face of Trump lawsuit, says minister

The BBC is right to “stand firm” in the face of Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit, a minister has said.

Stephen Kinnock also said the public broadcaster had been “very clear that there is no case to answer” when it came to accusations of libel.

The US president is suing the BBC for five billion US dollars (£3.7 billion) for selectively editing one of his speeches in an episode of Panorama.

A scandal over the edit erupted earlier this year, after a leaked BBC memo highlighted concerns about the way clips of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 – the day of the Capitol Riots – were spliced together for the documentary.

The fallout from the report led to the resignation of both the director-general Tim Davie and the head of news Deborah Turness.

In a 33-page lawsuit, Mr Trump’s lawyers accuse the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump”, according to the Associated Press.

The edit was “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 US presidential election, the document also claims.

The BBC, which has not yet responded to the filing, has previously argued that Mr Trump’s reputation could not have been damaged by the programme, as it was not broadcast in the US and he won the 2024 presidential election.

Speaking after news of the lawsuit broke, health minister Mr Kinnock suggested the BBC was right to argue its case against the president.

He told Sky News: “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 Mr Trump’s accusations on the broader point about libel or defamation.

“So, you know, I think it’s right that the BBC stands firm on that point.

“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.”

He said the Labour Party would “always stand up for the BBC as a vitally important institution”.

Downing Street said “any legal action is a matter for the BBC itself”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “They’ve made clear they believe there’s no case around the broader point of defamation or libel, but that’s for them and their legal teams to engage with, but as we’ve said previously, we will always defend the principle of a strong, independent BBC as a trusted and relied upon national broadcaster, reporting without fear or favour.

“But as we’ve also consistently said, it’s vitally important that they act to maintain trust, correcting mistakes quickly when they occur.”

Asked if it would be acceptable for licence fee-payers to fund a potential defamation settlement, the spokesman said: “I think we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves.”

He said there had been no conversation between Sir Keir Starmer and the US president since the news of the suit being filed.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Prime Minister to stand up for the BBC in the face of the “outrageous legal threat”.

He said: “Keir Starmer needs to stand up for the BBC against Trump’s outrageous legal threat and protect licence fee-payers from being hit in the pocket.

“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.”