BBC ‘Determined to Fight’ Potential Trump Lawsuit, Chair Says: ‘There Is No Basis for a Defamation Case’

The BBC is “determined to fight” a potential lawsuit from U.S. President Donald Trump, the broadcaster’s chair Samir Shah said on Monday.

According to Sky News, Shah sent an email to staff addressing speculation about legal action from Trump over documentary program “Panorama’s” editing of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech. Trump has said that he plans to sue the BBC for $1 billion for defamation, and over the weekend told reporters that he might up the ante to $5 billion. However, the president has yet to file suit.

“There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements,” Shah said in an email seen by Sky News. “In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our license fee payers, the British public.”

Shah continued: I want to be very clear with you — our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this.”

The “Panorama” scandal resulted in the resignation of BBC director general Tim Davie and CEO of news Deborah Turness after a leaked memo published by The Telegraph accused the broadcaster of editing a Trump speech in an episode to make it sound like he encouraged the Jan. 6 riots. A letter from Trump’s lawyers to the BBC demanded a full retraction of the documentary, an apology and payment to “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.”

On Thursday night, the BBC issued an apology to Trump, but refused to offer compensation. “Lawyers for the BBC have written to President 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 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,” a BBC spokesperson said. “The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on any BBC platforms. 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.”