Good morning. On Tuesday, the UK woke to the news Donald Trump had filed his threatened $10bn lawsuit against the BBC, alleging that the corporation “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively” defamed him. Later that day, the government launched a review of how the beleaguered corporation will be funded into the 2030s – they will ask the public for their views on options, including a subscription service or adverts, amid a drop in licence holders.
While there remains a lack of consensus over the latter issue – in itself enough to worry BBC executives over its future – few would argue that licence fee payers should be funding a multimillion pound compensation claim to the increasingly litigious US president.
The lawsuit, over an edit of a Trump speech contained in a BBC Panorama documentary shown shortly before the 2024 US election, has sparked a public relations crisis for the broadcaster. On Tuesday, the BBC repeated its commitment to defend the lawsuit. It has previously acknowledged that the edit of Trump’s speech before the January 6 riots, was an “error of judgment” and apologised to the president, but has rejected his demands for compensation and has insisted there was no legal basis for a defamation claim.
The fallout from the row led to the resignation of both Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general and the head of news, Deborah Turness, in November.
For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Haroon Siddique, the Guardian’s legal affairs correspondent, to dig into what the case means for media freedom, what is at stake – and who is likely to win. First, today’s headlines.
Five big stories
Australia | The alleged Bondi attacker who survived a shootout with police has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, after waking from his coma on Tuesday.
European Union | An agreement to rejoin Erasmus – the EU’s student exchange programme – is expected to be announced on Wednesday as part of the UK government’s drive towards closer relations with Brussels.
Venezuela | Donald Trump has ordered “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.
UK news | A former Royal Marine is starting a 21-year jail term for mowing down dozens of Liverpool football fans in a “truly shocking” act that “defies ordinary understanding”.
US news | Nick Reiner has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, the acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner and the photographer Michele Singer Reiner, authorities announced on Tuesday.
In depth: ‘I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth’
In a complaint filed on Monday evening in a court in Florida, Donald Trump sought $5bn in damages each on two counts: alleging that the BBC defamed him, and that it violated a Florida law that bars deceptive and unfair trade practices.
Before Trump filed the lawsuit, lawyers for the BBC had given a response to the president’s claims. There was no malice in the edit, they said, and Trump was not harmed by the programme as he was re-elected shortly after it aired. The BBC did not have the rights to, and did not distribute, the Panorama programme on its US channels, they also said, and that, while the documentary was available on BBC iPlayer, it was restricted only to viewers in the UK.
In the lawsuit, Trump cites agreements the BBC had with other distributors, in particular one with a third-party media corporation that allegedly had licensing rights to the documentary outside the UK. It also claims people in Florida may have accessed the programme through the streaming service BritBox, or using a virtual private network (VPN) to mask their location. The BBC has not yet responded to these claims.
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What did the edit show?
In his speech on 6 January 2021, before the infamous violence in Washington, Trump told a crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
More than 50 minutes later, he said in the speech: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
In the Panorama programme, an edit showed him as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC acknowledged the edit had given “the mistaken impression” Trump had “made a direct call for violent action,” but disagreed that there was basis for a claim for defamation.
On Monday, the president told reporters at the Oval Office: “In a little while, you’ll be seeing I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth.”
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What are the key elements of the case?
Trump’s lawsuit claims the BBC “intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead” its viewers around the world by splicing together two separate parts of his speech. It also claims the BBC “purposefully omitted” a part of the president’s statement calling on marchers to “peacefully” make their voices heard.
Unlike in the UK, public figures in the US are held to a higher standard of proof in defamation cases than the general public – they must prove “actual malice”, says Haroon Siddique. Under US law, “actual malice” does not mean spite or ill will, but whether the publisher knew the statement was false or recklessly disregarded the truth. The claimant must also show that they suffered injury as a result of the libel. (Trump’s lawyers say the BBC caused him “reputational and financial harm”.)
In court, lawyers for the BBC could argue against this and say that the content in question was part of a documentary that also featured pro-Trump voices, Haroon says. They could also question whether the president had actually suffered harm.
“The two questions are whether you could get access to this particular programme,” Haroon says, “and secondly – if you could get access – how many people actually watched it, which I imagine wouldn’t be that high.”
In assessing reputational harm, the “numbers of people who watched is a relevant factor,” he says. “If it’s only a handful, how can you prove reputational harm? It is not straightforward.”
Mark Stephens, a media lawyer, said back in November: “Trump’s reputation has already been battered by nine judicial findings, some congressional hearings, global coverage of January 6, and he faces ongoing civil lawsuits in Washington itself, and also a special counsel report alleging a criminal scheme to make or to have civil insurrection.
“So proving that Panorama caused additional serious harm is a bit of a stretch. If it can be shown by the BBC that his reputation was already in tatters on this issue, blaming the BBC for the wreckage of that is a bit of a tough sell.”
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Has Trump’s anti-media campaign gone global?
The president’s contentious relationship with the US media has led to a catalogue of disputes and legal battles since his re-election in November. ABC, owned by Disney, agreed to pay $15m as part of a settlement over a defamation lawsuit he brought after comments made by the anchor George Stephanopoulos.
In July, Trump also reached a $16m settlement with Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, over what he claimed was false editing of a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris. Trump had filed a $10bn lawsuit against the company in October, one of a string of legal actions against US media conglomerates over what the US president maintains was biased, incorrect or “fake” news reporting.
It does seem to demonstrate an escalation of the anti-media campaign by Trump, says Haroon. “As far as I know, this is the first foreign broadcaster or press that he’s taken legal action against.”
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What impact could it have on the BBC?
In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Christopher Ruddy, CEO of the rightwing American media company Newsmax, said he did not think it would be good for the BBC’s public perception to go ahead with the case, and predicted that the case could settle for $10m (£7.5m). Ruddy estimated the cost of the litigation for the BBC would be between $50m and $100m.
“Just having the case go on, probably the BBC would lose in the sense of public perception,” he said. And Ruddy added that, in a case like this, the plaintiff would have “very significant powers of discovery”; for example, emails and conversations and private things said by BBC executives about the president that “may not be flattering and may have shown an intent to harm him in the production of this.”
Haroon says that while discovery always has “the potential to be embarrassing”, it would be “surprising” to have a BBC executive say anything, let alone think that “they could take Trump down.”
“That’s not how the world works. How much does the BBC have the ability to impact the world’s view of Trump anyway? That’s part of the case.”
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How could the case impact US/UK relations?
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that any legal action was a matter for the corporation, but the government defended “the principle of a strong, independent BBC as a trusted, relied-upon national broadcaster, reporting without fear or favour.”
Starmer has gone to great lengths to cultivate a relationship with Trump. One might imagine that, in the grand scheme of diplomatic relations, this doesn’t matter, says Haroon. “But, at the same time, we know that Trump gets easily insulted, which can magnify the importance of things other political leaders would not necessarily see as important.”
“So it’s very difficult to guess how it will play out.”
What else we’ve been reading
43% of 25-year-olds in the UK are adults living with their parents, a statistic to strike fear into the hearts of those of us with teenagers. Martin
I was moved by the calm with which Ilhan Omar, the Somali-born US representative for Minnesota, deals with the highest level of death threats of any congressperson. Karen
I worry rejecting AI use in music creation will eventually look as Canute-like as the musicians union trying to ban synths in 1982. Eamonn Forde is erudite here on the current state of affairs. Martin
I enjoyed Alex Needham’s interview with Ben Whishaw, about his portrayal of a Manhattan photographer who photographed a long gone “queer New York bohemia lost by aids” in Ira Sach’s film, Peter Hujar’s Day. Karen
Social data scientist Lauren Leek has done a deep dive into how restaurant recommendations in Google Maps may be skewing the market and algorithmically making and breaking businesses. Martin
Sport
Cricket | Usman Khawaja proved reports of his demise as an international cricketer were greatly exaggerated as he scored a defiant half-century on Wednesday to steady Australia on day one of the third Ashes test against England.
Football | Chelsea’s substitutes made the difference Tuesday as wingers Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto scored second-half goals to secure a 3-1 win at third-tier Cardiff City and a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Football | amid backlash against exorbitant prices for the 2026 World Cup, Fifa on Tuesday announced that it had created a new tier of tickets specifically for supporters of the involved teams for each game, with prices capped at $60 per ticket for every match of the tournament, including the final.
The front pages
The Guardian leads with “UK to rejoin EU Erasmus programme for students”. The Times has “Return of UK student exchange with Europe”. The i launches a new campaign under the headline “Silicosis scandal: ban killer kitchen dust to save lives”. The Financial Times reports “Labour hails sweeping workers’ rights shift as flagship bill clears final hurdle”.
The Mirror looks at Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC with “BBC comes out fighting”. The Telegraph reports “Free TV licences for benefit claimants”, while the Mail follows the same story with “Free BBC if you live on Benefits Street”.
Today in Focus
Ilhan Omar on Trump’s attacks on Somali-Americans
The congresswoman told David Smith about how it feels to be targeted by the world’s most powerful man. But why has Donald Trump gone after her and the Somali community?
Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
“The words people use to describe winter include ‘bleak’, ‘dark’, ‘barren’, ‘cold’, ‘miserable’, ‘depressing’ … We can’t expect to keep this language and appreciate the joys of winter,” says Stephanie Fitzgerald, a chartered clinical psychologist. She now feels the spirit of the season is better encapsulated by “‘yutori’, a Japanese word that means room to breathe, a sense of space, taking a moment to pause.”
Her book, The Gifts of Winter, is the result of her exploring how to avoid her former dread of this time. “I fell deeply in love with winter … It is a captivating and truly gorgeous season,” she tells Rachel Dixon, in this piece which teaches us how to love it too.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
