BBC Apologizes to Trump for 'Manipulated Broadcast'... Refuses Compensation

"We do not agree there are grounds for a defamation lawsuit"
"The controversial broadcast will not be rebroadcast"

The British public broadcaster BBC bowed to U.S. President Donald Trump over allegations of documentary manipulation, but refused to pay damages, stating that the broadcast did not defame President Trump.

On the 13th (local time), the BBC announced in a statement that its legal team had sent a reply to a letter received from President Trump's legal team on the 9th. The BBC acknowledged that the controversial broadcast gave the false impression that President Trump directly incited violent behavior, and stated that it would not rebroadcast the program in question.

BBC London Headquarters, UK. Photo by EPA Yonhap News.

The legal team said, "The BBC sincerely regrets the way the video clips were edited," but added, "We do not agree that there are grounds for a defamation lawsuit."

The program at the center of the controversy is the "Trump: The Second Chance?" episode of the documentary series "Panorama," which aired a week before the U.S. presidential election in November last year.

There were claims that, during President Trump's speech on January 6, 2021-the day of the U.S. Capitol riot-three segments were edited together to appear as a single sentence, making it seem as though he incited the riot.

As the controversy grew, BBC Chairman Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House, apologizing on behalf of himself and the BBC for the editing of President Trump's speech. BBC Director General Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, abruptly resigned on the 9th.

On the 10th, President Trump's lawyers demanded that the BBC delete the program by the 14th of this month and issue an apology. They warned that failure to comply would result in a lawsuit seeking $1 billion (approximately 1.45 trillion won) in damages.