Why Trumps BBC Lawsuit Could Fall Apart

Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion (£7.4bn) lawsuit against the BBC – but legal experts have said his chances of success are slim.

Documents filed at a court in Florida asked for $5bn in damages for defamation, as well as the same amount for a claim of violating trade practices.

The row is over an episode of the current affairs programme Panorama which was aired in October last year, shortly before Trump was re-elected US president.

The programme edited together two parts of a speech Trump made to his supporters on January 6, 2021, shortly before the Capitol riots.

In one section, Trump appears to say he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.

Trump actually said he would walk with them “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard”.

He did not call on his supporters to “fight like hell” until much later in the speech.

The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump”, calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 US election.

But when the row first broke in November, legal experts said Trump faces significant hurdles if his legal action is to be successful.

Media lawyer Mark Stephens told BBC Breakfast there were “more than a few legal tripwires between President Trump and a legal victory against the BBC”.

He said: “A claim in Florida would be within time, it’s a two-year limitation there, but the problem for President Trump’s lawyers is that Panorama wasn’t broadcast in the USA, and BBC iPlayer isn’t available in the USA. So it’s not clear that any US court would have jurisdiction to hear the claim.

“And once you get over those procedural impediments, there are other rather ticklish problems for President Trump’s lawyers.

“Trump’s reputation has already been battered by nine judicial findings, some congressional hearings, global coverage of January 6, and he faces ongoing civil lawsuits in Washington itself, and also a special counsel report alleging a criminal scheme to make or to have civil insurrection.

“So proving that Panorama caused additional serious harm is a bit of a stretch. If it can be shown by the BBC that his reputation was already in tatters on this issue, blaming the BBC for the wreckage of that is a bit of a tough sell.”

It should be noted that Trump’s lawsuit says the Panorama episode can be watched on the BritBox subscription streaming platform.

The BBC said it has not yet responded to the filing.

Speaking on Monday, Trump said: “In a little while, you’ll be seeing I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth literally. They had me saying things that I never said.”

Last month, BBC chairman Samir Shah apologised for an “error of judgment” and accepted the editing of the 2024 documentary gave “the impression of a direct call for violent action”.

However, the corporation has insisted Trump has no grounds for a defamation claim.

The row triggered the resignation of both the BBC’s director general Tim Davie and its head of news Deborah Turness.