The BBC has formally asked a Florida court to dismiss Donald Trump’s $10 billion (€9.2 billion) defamation lawsuit over the editing of his January 6 speech in a Panorama documentary.
The motion, filed on Monday, argues that the case should be thrown out because the programme was not broadcast or made available in Florida or elsewhere in the United States.
A BBC spokesperson told Broadband TV News: “We have said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us. Put simply – the documentary was never aired in Florida – or the US. It wasn’t available to watch in the US on iPlayer, online or any other streaming platforms including BritBox and BBC Select. We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the President’s claim.”
Trump launched the claim in December, alleging the 2024 documentary Trump: A Second Chance? edited his remarks to suggest he directly urged supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell”. The BBC has previously apologised for the edit, saying it created a mistaken impression, but has maintained there is no basis for a defamation action.
In its latest filing, the broadcaster also argues Trump cannot plausibly show reputational damage, noting that he was re-elected after the documentary aired. The disputed sequence amounts to 12 seconds of an hour-long programme.
The legal dispute has become one of the most serious editorial crises to hit the corporation in recent years, following the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness after the row over the film.
If the motion fails, the case is due to go to trial in February 2027.
