Trump threatens to sue 'corrupt' BBC for $1.5b over 'salacious' documentary

Donald Trump's lawyers have threatened to sue Britain's national broadcaster for $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) over the edit of a "salacious" documentary that has plunged the organisation into crisis.

A letter dated November 9 and signed by one of Mr Trump's lawyers, Alejandro Brito, claimed "fabricated" statements aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) last year had caused the US president "to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm".

BBC director-general Tim Davie resigned on Sunday and conceded the broadcast in question, an episode of its Panorama program which aired in the lead-up to last year's US presidential election, was "misleading".

The organisation has been in damage control since the edit was thrust into the spotlight when a leaked memo detailing purported bias in the publicly funded behemoth's reporting was published by The Telegraph newspaper last week.

One of the examples highlighted was the Panorama broadcast.

The memo noted the BBC had "spliced together two clips" from separate parts of a speech Mr Trump made to supporters on January 6, 2021 — the day of the infamous attack on the US Capitol building.

It said what made it to air was "completely misleading" and gave the impression Mr Trump had instructed the crowd to march on the country's seat of government and "fight like hell".

Mr Davie, the organisation's most senior figure, and news boss Deborah Turness both resigned amid the firestorm at the weekend, and on Monday, local time, the corporation revealed it had received legal threats from Mr Trump.

"We will review the letter and respond directly in due course," a spokesperson told the ABC.

On Sunday evening, Mr Trump, a frequent critic of media outlets that interrogate his administration and personal affairs, described the BBC as being "a terrible thing for democracy" and accused it of having "corrupt journalists".

He has previously sued large US outlets CNN, The Wall Street Journal, the American Broadcasting Company and The New York Times, among others.

The letter, which has been widely circulated, demanded that the BBC: 

• Immediately issue a "full and fair retraction"
• Immediately issue an apology
• Appropriately compensate Mr Trump for the harm caused

It said if the broadcaster did not comply with these by the end of the week, "President Trump will be left with no choice but to enforce his legal and equitable rights". 

"The BBC is on notice," it said.

Samir Shah, the BBC's chair, said in an interview with his own organisation on Monday he was not sure whether the US president would sue, "but he's a litigious fellow, so we should be prepared for all outcomes".

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended the broadcaster on Monday, saying Downing Street did not believe the organisation was "institutionally biased".

Much of the BBC's income is derived from a 174.50 pound ($352) annual "colour TV licence fee", which is mandatory for UK households that have a television or use streaming services.

However, the organisation, which has a multi-billion-pound budget, has been plagued by scandals in recent years.

Its most prominent newsreader, Huw Edwards, was stood down in 2023 and last year pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children.

In May, the corporation's highest-paid presenter, former footballer Gary Linekar, walked away from the organisation and his 1.35 million pound ($2.72 million) annual salary amid a storm over his social media posts.

Then, in July, the BBC sacked both hosts of cooking show MasterChef amid allegations of misconduct.

In September, the organisation conceded it had broken its own editorial guidelines relating to harm and offence in broadcasting a performance by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan on its digital streaming platform.

And last month, the UK's media watchdog ruled the corporation had committed a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules over a documentary about Gaza.

The BBC failed to disclose the program's 13-year-old narrator was the son of an official from Hamas — a prescribed terrorist organisation in the UK and Australia — the group that controls the Palestinian territory.

Surveys have consistently ranked the BBC as the most trusted news outlet in Britain.