BBC apologizes to Trump over editing blunder, rejects defamation claim

The BBC apologized to US President Donald Trump on Thursday, over a documentary that Trump’s lawyers described as false and defamatory, seeking to defuse a row that has plunged the public broadcaster into its worst crisis in years.

A BBC spokesperson said that lawyers for the broadcaster had written to Trump’s legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday.

“BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President (Donald) Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the program,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary on any BBC platforms while rejecting that it was defamatory.

Rebuffing Trump’s demands for compensation the broadcaster said, “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”