President Trump is using internal BBC emails to support his £7 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster over a Panorama episode that aired ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. The case centers on an edited segment from Trump's January 6, 2021 speech where viewers heard him say "We fight like hell," despite this part coming much later in his address. Trump’s legal team will argue that the BBC made a malicious editorial error by splicing together different parts of his speech to imply he incited violence. They plan to use an apology from Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, and emails showing American viewers could watch the program to prove actual malice under US libel law.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
President Donald Trump is using BBC's internal emails as evidence in his £7 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. The case centers around a Panorama episode aired before the 2024 U.S. presidential election that edited together two segments of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech at the "Stop The Steal" rally. The documentary spliced his lines about going to the Capitol and fighting with statements made more than an hour later, implying he incited violence.
Trump's legal team will present emails from BBC chairman Samir Shah offering an apology to support their argument that the program was produced maliciously. They also aim to prove that the documentary could be viewed in the U.S., despite being primarily broadcast in Britain, by showing emails where producers shared links with American viewers. Under U.S. libel law, Trump must demonstrate malice for the edited clip to be considered defamatory.
Written for “Trump BBC Lawsuit” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
President Trump will use the BBC's own emails to try to win his £7billion lawsuit against the broadcaster, court documents have revealed.
asserted
documents → see → broadcaster
Internal BBC emails will form part of Trump's defamation case against the broadcaster over a Panorama episode.
asserted
emails → form → episode
The defamation case hinges on a 12-second edit of Trump's January 6, 2021 address, spliced together for a Panorama film broadcast weeks out from the 2024 US presidential election.
asserted
case → hinge → election
Viewers heard him say: 'We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you.
asserted
I → hear → you
And we fight.
asserted
we → fight → ?
We fight like hell.'
asserted
We → fight → hell
The fight lines came more than 50 minutes later, which Trump says made it look like he incited the mob.
asserted
he → come → mob
Trump's legal team will use an apology from Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, to try to prove the documentary was produced maliciously.
asserted
documentary → use → Shah
Lawyers will also use emails to show BBC documentary producers sharing links to watch the programme with those in the US – to prove Americans could also watch it.
uncertain
Americans → use → it
The President will need to prove that the documentary was maliciously published for the segment to be considered defamatory under US libel law.
asserted
segment → need → law
Under the law, libel has been committed when information is published 'with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not'.
asserted
it → commit → disregard
President Donald Trump speaks at the 'Stop The Steal' Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC
Internal BBC emails will form part of Trump's defamation case against the broadcaster over a Panorama episode
Trump's legal team will use an apology from Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, to try to prove the documentary was produced maliciously
Lawyers will also have to prove that the programme was watched in the US – as it was only available in Britain.
Trump first filed the lawsuit last December after it was discovered that the BBC had spliced two sections of the President's speech.
asserted
BBC → speak → speech
The following uproar led to Tim Davie, then director-general of the BBC, and Deborah Turness, the BBC News chief executive, resigning.
asserted
Davie → follow → BBC
Trump refused to accept an apology from Mr Shah and is now pursuing the broadcaster through the US courts.
asserted
Trump → refuse → courts
Mr Shah wrote to Trump last year that the documentary had 'unintentionally created the impression of a single, continuous section of your speech' and had given 'the mistaken impression that you had made a direct call for violent action.
asserted
you → write → action
That was an editorial error and it should not have happened.
asserted
it → happen → ?
I have stated clearly and publicly that the BBC apologises for that error of judgment.'
asserted
BBC → state → judgment
Lawyers representing the US President are using this to argue that the corporation defamed their client with 'actual malice', according to The Times.
uncertain
corporation → represent → Times
The BBC argues that the apology made clear that the error made in editing was unintentional.
asserted
error → argue → editing
Trump's attorney, Alejandro Brito, said in a hearing that the BBC 'vehemently deny that the splicing was done with actual malice or with intent.
asserted
splicing → say → intent
The problem with that argument, your honour, is that it is entirely belied by the words of the chairman of the BBC.
asserted
it → belie → BBC
Pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021
The BBC denies defamation and argued that the case should be thrown out because the documentary was broadcast for a UK audience, not the US.
asserted
documentary → storm → audience
But the President's lawyers allege that internal BBC emails show that staff shared the documentary to people outside of the UK.
asserted
staff → allege → UK
Producers shared links to the documentary with a select group of US residents who were involved in the documentary.
asserted
who → share → documentary
One email sent by a representative of October Films, with a BBC staff member, included instructions on how to use a virtual private network (VPN) to access BBC iPlayer from outside Britain.
asserted
email → send → Britain
A VPN tricks websites into believing you are browsing from another country.
asserted
you → trick → country
The BBC said it had strict rules to prevent iPlayer being watched outside the UK therefore any viewing in the US would be unauthorised.
asserted
viewing → say → US
The emails also show that BBC editors were considering titling the documentary Wanted: President Trump? with a mock-up of a wanted poster in the emails.
asserted
editors → show → emails
The Panorama programme was eventually titled Trump: A second chance?
asserted
programme → title → ?
The BBC says records will show the President's wealth has climbed by more than $1billion in the past year, contradicting his claim that the documentary cost him money.
uncertain
documentary → say → money
A spokesman for the BBC said: 'We have said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us.
asserted
we → say → us
The documentary was never aired anywhere in the US, including the state of Florida.
asserted
documentary → air → Florida
We are continuing to challenge the jurisdiction of the Florida court to hear this claim, and we have filed a Motion to Dismiss the President’s recently amended claim.'
uncertain
we → continue → claim
The Aporia
