Long before Trump became a politician, an earlier edition of “Panorama” similarly plunged the BBC into an existential crisis.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

High-stakes fight with the right? The BBC has been here before – POLITICO

27 Nov 2025, 03:20 by Christopher Silvester · POLITICO

Christopher Silvester is a freelance journalist, author and consultant.

U.S. President Donald Trump intends to sue the BBC for defamation in Florida over a documentary broadcast during the 2024 presidential campaign. Aired as part of the broadcaster’s flagship current affairs program “Panorama,” questionably edited footage from the president’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021 gave the impression he had urged his supporters to storm the capitol in Washington, DC.

Trump only discovered this after the statute of limitations for libel action in the U.K. had passed, so he can’t sue there. Had he known in time, he may have received a settlement or award for damages worth tens of thousands of pounds — especially now the BBC has issued a public apology.