BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for Panorama Trump edit | UK News

Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the , following criticism over how a speech the US president made was edited and used in a Panorama documentary.

His legal team has given the a deadline of 14 November to make a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary – or face being sued for $1bn (£760m).

A leaked internal memo said the show had misled viewers by splicing two parts of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech together, making it appear as though he was explicitly urging people to attack the US Capitol after his election defeat.

The ‘s outgoing news CEO Deborah Turness insisted the corporation was not “institutionally biased”, after her resignation alongside director general Tim Davie.

Their resignations came on Sunday after mounting pressure following the publication last week by the Telegraph of a memo written by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to the broadcaster’s editorial standards committee.

The memo accuses the of issues within its Gaza coverage, anti-Trump and anti-Israel bias and one-sided transgender reporting – among other “troubling matters”. It also highlights the Panorama edit.

On Monday, chair Samir Shah accepted an “error of judgement” had been made on the documentary and that the edited speech gave the impression of a “direct call for action” – and said the would like to apologise for it.

But responding to a letter from the Culture Media and Sport Committee, he said it was “simply not true” the memo had uncovered issues the had “sought to bury” – nor was it correct to suggest the had done nothing to tackle concerns raised in the memo.

Trump’s letter, which the received on Sunday, calls for an apology and for the corporation to “appropriately compensate” the president.

It accuses the of making “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements” about him.

Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito also accused the of defamation under Florida law.

In his letter to the committee, Shah said the had received more than 500 complaints since the memo’s publication.

The Panorama edit had been discussed by the committee in January and May this year as part of a wider review of the ‘s US election coverage, he said.

Prescott and some committee members voiced concern about it then, he added.

Shah added he “also heard from News that the purpose of editing the clip was to convey the message of the speech”.

This was so Panorama’s audience “could better understand how it had been received by President Trump’s supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time”.

The point was not pursued further “given it had not attracted significant audience feedback and had been transmitted before the US election,” he explained.

He added: “With hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action.”

In Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021, he said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

In the Panorama programme, he was 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.”

The two sections that were stitched together were originally more than 50 minutes apart.

Davie said on Sunday that the “current debate” around the corporation was not the only reason for his decision to step down, but “understandably contributed” to it.

“Overall the is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”

Turness, who has overseen news and current affairs programming since 2022, said on Monday in her first public remarks since announcing she was stepping down that the corporation was “not institutionally biased” .

“Mistakes are made” but the ‘s journalists are “hardworking people who strive for impartiality,” she told reporters outside the broadcaster’s London headquarters.

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said the prime minister did not believe the was “institutionally biased”.

No 10 also denied the was “corrupt” – a word Trump used to describe some of its journalists.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said there had been “serious questions to answer for a long time” within the and said the documentary incident was a “real problem”.

Prescott had also expressed concerns about a lack of action to address what he described as “systemic problems” of bias in Arabic’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.

And he raised concerns about the broadcaster’s coverage of trans issues, suggesting it was effectively “censored” by specialist LGBT reporters who promoted a pro-trans agenda.

Shah’s letter noted these issues had been discussed by the editorial standards committee, including concerns regarding Arabic.

He said that a review of sex and gender identity coverage noted “much of the coverage met the ‘s standards of impartiality and accuracy”.

He said the committee “accepts that there are occasions when the gets things wrong” and takes action when necessary, including disciplinary measures, updating guidelines and issuing corrections.

“Mr Prescott may have judged that these individual actions were not sufficient.

“That is his opinion – and it is of course for him to form that judgement. However, it is not true to say that concerns have been ignored or action not taken.”

In an interview with the ‘s culture editor Katie Razzall, Shah insisted it was “simply not true” the organisation has done nothing to tackle problems, citing action taken at the Arabic service and long form journalism unit.

He also defended the against allegations of having “anti-Israel” bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.

He said various issues raised by Prescott were being taken seriously and that included “individual mistakes and underlying problems”, adding that action is and had been taken on both – but rejected claims of systemic bias.

The US president has a long history of launching, or threatening, legal action against media outlets, with various outcomes.

In July, the ‘s US partner CBS News and its parent company Paramount settled for $16 million (£13.5m) after legal action by Trump, who alleged deceptive editing of an interview with then vice-president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.

The New York Times, CNN and the Des Moines Register have also faced legal action from Trump.