BBC director general Matt Brittin says BBC must 'defend its integrity' by challenging Donald Trump defamation case
BBC director general Matt Brittin has said the BBC must “defend its integrity” by challenging Donald Trump’s defamation case against the organisation.
The US president is seeking $10 billion (£7.5 billion) in a Florida court over the editing of a ‘Panorama’ documentary from 2024 about the US Capitol riots.
Although the BBC had previously apologised for an “error of judgment” and accepted the editing of the programme gave “the impression of a direct call for violent action”, the broadcaster is seeking to have the case thrown out.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Mr Brittin was asked whether he saw the case as a line in the sand for BBC independence and credibility.
He said: “The decision to vigorously defend ourselves in the Florida court is something that predates me, but I very much support it.
“I think it’s really important that we defend our integrity.
“We moved to dismiss the case on the grounds of jurisdiction in that nobody in the US actually saw the show with the bad edits, and it was a bad edit, and he won the election, and he’s got richer.”
He added: “But you know, we must fight and defend the case, and that’s what we’re doing.”
In suing the BBC, Mr Trump originally alleged the ‘Panorama’ episode, broadcast shortly before the 2024 presidential election he won, had caused him both reputational and financial injury.
The documentary has faced criticism for giving the impression Mr Trump had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building on January 6 2021 after he lost the election to Joe Biden.
The allegations led the then-BBC director-general Tim Davie to announce his resignation.