Trump says he will likely sue the BBC for up to $5 billion over edited speech

U.S. President Donald Trump said connected Friday helium would apt writer the BBC adjacent week for arsenic overmuch arsenic $5 cardinal aft the British broadcaster admitted it wrongly edited a video of a code helium gave but insisted determination was nary ineligible ground for his claim.

The British Broadcasting Corporation has been plunged into its biggest situation successful decades aft 2 elder leaders resigned pursuing accusations of bias, including implicit the editing of Trump's code connected January 6, 2021, erstwhile his supporters stormed the Capitol.

Trump's lawyers had initially acceptable a Friday deadline for the BBC to retract its documentary oregon look a suit for "no less" than $1 billion.

They besides demanded an apology and compensation for what they called "overwhelming reputational and fiscal harm," according to a missive seen by Reuters.

The BBC, which has admitted its editing of Trump's remarks was an "error of judgement," sent a idiosyncratic apology to Trump connected Thursday but said it would not rebroadcast the documentary and rejected the defamation claim.

"We'll writer them for anyplace betwixt $1 cardinal and $5 billion, astir apt sometime adjacent week," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One arsenic helium headed to Florida for the weekend.

"I deliberation I person to bash that, I mean they've adjacent admitted that they cheated," helium said. "They changed the words coming retired of my mouth."

Trump said helium had not spoken with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom helium has built a coagulated relationship, astir the issue, but that helium planned to telephone him this weekend. He said Starmer had tried to scope him, and was "very embarrassed" by the incident.

The documentary, which aired connected the BBC's flagship "Panorama" quality program, spliced unneurotic 3 video excerpts from Trump's speech, creating the content helium was inciting the January 6, 2021, riot. His lawyers said this was "false and defamatory."

In an interrogation with British right-leaning TV transmission GB News, Trump said the edit was "impossible to believe" and compared it to predetermination interference.

"I made a beauteous statement, and they made it into a not beauteous statement," helium said. "Fake quality was a large term, but it's not beardown enough. This is beyond fake, this is corrupt."

Trump said the BBC's apology was not enough. "When you accidental it's unintentional, I conjecture if it's unintentional, you don't apologize," helium said. "They clipped unneurotic 2 parts of the code that were astir an hr apart. It's unthinkable to picture the thought that I had fixed this assertive code which led to riots. One was making maine into a atrocious guy, and the different was a precise calming statement."

BBC Chair Samir Shah sent a idiosyncratic apology connected Thursday to the White House and told lawmakers the edit was "an mistake of judgement."

The pursuing day, British civilization curate Lisa Nandy said the apology was "right and necessary."

The broadcaster said it had nary plans to rebroadcast the documentary and was investigating caller allegations astir editing practices that included the code connected different programme, "Newsnight."

The quality has escalated into the broadcaster's astir superior situation successful decades. Its manager wide Tim Davie and caput of quality Deborah Turness discontinue this week implicit the contention amid allegations of bias and editing failures.

Starmer told parliament connected Wednesday helium supported a "strong and autarkic BBC" but said the broadcaster indispensable "get its location successful order."

"Some would alternatively the BBC didn't exist. Some of them are sitting up there," helium said, pointing to absorption Conservative lawmakers.

"I'm not 1 of them. In an property of disinformation, the statement for an impartial British quality work is stronger than ever."

The BBC, founded successful 1922 and funded chiefly by a compulsory licence fee, faces scrutiny implicit whether nationalist wealth could beryllium utilized to settee Trump's claim.

Former media curate John Whittingdale said determination would beryllium "real anger" if licence payers' wealth covered damages.