"I want to make it clear to everyone that our stance remains unchanged. There is no basis for a defamation lawsuit, and we are determined to fight this," BBC chairman Samir Shah said in a message to staff on 17/11.

Shah added that recent speculation has circulated regarding a potential lawsuit from US President Donald Trump against BBC, along with discussions about associated costs or settlement figures. He affirmed that BBC is funded by public license fees, and the broadcaster is thus responsible for protecting the interests of British taxpayers.

BBC chairman Samir Shah. *Photo: Reuters*

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to sue BBC, seeking 1-5 billion USD in damages, with the lawsuit expected to proceed this week. Trump also claimed that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had called him to express embarrassment.

The BBC chairman had previously sent a letter to the White House, apologizing to President Trump for an editing incident involving his speech. However, the broadcaster rejected the compensation claim, asserting there was no sufficient basis for Trump to sue them for "defamation".

The controversy stems from an episode of the Panorama documentary series, aired before the 2024 US presidential election. BBC allegedly edited a video of Trump's speech on 6/1/2021, the day of the Capitol Hill riot. This editing reportedly misled the public into believing that Trump encouraged protesters to "fight like hell" alongside him. However, Trump's actual words were, "we're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."

Following the scandal, BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness resigned. Chairman Samir Shah conceded that the broadcaster should have maintained greater objectivity.

Telegraph Deputy Editor Gordon Rayner analyzes the edited segment of US President Donald Trump's speech by BBC. *Video: Telegraph*

Ngoc Anh (According to AFP)