Donald Trump has yet to speak with Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the ongoing BBC Panorama scandal, GB News’ Ben Leo has revealed.
The US Prwsident, who spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach enjoying the sunshine while playing golf, was said to be expecting a call from UK Prime Minister that is yet to materialise.
Ben explained that while a conversation was anticipated on Saturday night and again on Sunday, the call “hasn’t come yet, as we understand, so maybe it will come today”.
The latest update follows Mr Trump’s exclusive interview with GB News last week, in which he vowed to sue the BBC after it emerged the broadcaster had spliced together footage of two speeches nearly an hour apart.
In a world-exclusive interview at the White House, the US President told GB News that he will continue pursuing legal action against the corporation as it is his “obligation”.
Ben explained on Britain’s News Channel: “The latest is that President Trump was meant to be in conversation with Keir Starmer over the weekend.
“I think he was waiting for a call from the Prime Minister. We thought it might come on Saturday night, but it didn’t. We thought it might come last night, but we understand it still hasn’t happened.
“President Trump was busy at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach over the weekend, enjoying some sunshine and playing golf after what has been a pretty hectic couple of weeks.
Ben Leo said that the US President is waiting on a call from the UK Prime Minister
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GB NEWS
“So maybe he was just too busy playing golf, or maybe the Prime Minister was too busy with his own commitments over the weekend. But the call hasn’t been made yet, as we understand it, so maybe it will come today.
“To be honest, I don’t think the call will make much difference. Perhaps the Prime Minister will apologise on behalf of the BBC.
“In addition to any apology, the chairman of the BBC, Samir Shah, has already sent assurances to the White House.
“The BBC, however, are determined to see President Trump in court. They argue that, although they admitted making a mistake with the Panorama documentary, they do not believe they materially damaged him through defamation.
“Their reasoning is that Trump went on to win the election, both in the Electoral College and the popular vote, despite the documentary.
“President Trump, as you saw with Bev Turner’s interview on Friday on The Late Show Live on GB News, is determined to pursue the BBC in court. He was referencing potential damages ranging from $1billion to $5billion.
“If the case does reach court, any fees, settlements, or court costs would most likely come from the BBC’s insurer rather than licence fee payers.
“There has also been rhetoric over the weekend from the BBC board and executives, as reported in The Times and The Sunday Times, stressing that any money paid to President Trump should not come from licence fee payers.”
After receiving a public apology from the BBC, Mr Trump said he had no choice but to continue with a lawsuit.
He said: “I’m not looking to get into lawsuits, but I think I have an obligation to do it.
“This was so egregious. If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again with other people. I’d like to find out why they did it.”