Outgoing BBC Boss Commends Journalists Amid Trump’s $1B Legal Threat

Outgoing BBC Director General Tim Davie expressed pride in the broadcaster’s journalists on Tuesday, a day after former US President Donald Trump threatened to sue the corporation for $1 billion over a 2024 documentary.

Speaking briefly outside BBC headquarters in London, Davie said: “I’m here to lead and support the BBC. I’m very, very proud of our journalists in this building. The BBC is going to be thriving, and I support everyone on the team. I want to thank every one of them. They’re doing a wonderful job.”

Davie and BBC Head of News Deborah Turness resigned on Sunday following days of intense scrutiny triggered by a leaked memo from former BBC adviser Michael Prescott. The memo alleged that the documentary had misleadingly edited Trump’s speech.

On Monday, BBC Chair Samir Shah apologized for the “error of judgment” in the documentary, acknowledging that splicing parts of Trump’s speech together “did give the impression of a direct call for violent action” related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Trump’s legal team has given the BBC until Friday to issue an apology and provide “appropriate compensation.” The former president has a history of suing news outlets over unfavorable coverage, securing multi-million-dollar settlements from US networks including CBS and ABC.

Meanwhile, Conservative shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston said the BBC should issue a full apology to Trump over the broadcast. Speaking to GB News, he described the editing as “transparently misleading” and suggested it was only one of several issues with the documentary highlighted by Prescott.