\n<\/p>\n
Andrew Sparrow<\/span><\/p>\n Ed Davey,<\/strong> the Lib Dem leader, says President Trump \u201cis trying to destroy our BBC, not because he cares about the truth, but because he doesn\u2019t want to get away with his lies\u201d. Will the PM tell Trump to drop his demand for a $1bn settlement from the BBC.<\/p>\n Starmer<\/strong> says he will always stand up for a \u201cstrong, independent BBC\u201d.<\/p>\n Davey<\/strong> says the Tories also undermined the BBC. They put two cronies on the BBC board. One, Robbie Gibb, is still there. Will the PM sack him now?<\/p>\n Starmer<\/strong> says he agrees the last government undermined the BBC; they undermined almost everything, he says.<\/p>\n But he says he won\u2019t go into the internal workings of the BBC.<\/p>\n More from PMQs here.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.45 EST<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s a missing link in British public life \u2013 and it underpins crises from the BBC<\/strong> to our prisons, writes Guardian columnist Rafael Behr<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s national broadcaster is unusually well respected as a venerable institution and a provider of reliable news. That reputation has made it an effective force countering fragmentation and radicalisation in the information space. Without it, UK politics would go (further) down the US path of extreme polarisation, tending towards civil unrest.<\/em><\/p>\n That is why the story of shoddy editorial practices described in a leaked internal memo, leading to the resignation of senior executives, is doubly grim. It is inherently bad that editorial standards went awry \u2013 far awry in the case of Panorama\u2019s slyly edited video of a Donald Trump speech to an insurrectionary mob. And it is disastrous that such failures empower Trump and his legion of fellow-travellers in British politics and media to portray the BBC as irredeemably corrupt.<\/em><\/p>\n The frenzy is out of proportion to the offence, but consistent with a longstanding vendetta. The BBC is a target for rival news organisations that resent its unique status and privileged funding. It is also ideologically threatening to the radical right because the licence-fee model is an exemplar of a mutually funded public good. The corporation doesn\u2019t have to exhibit liberal-left bias to provoke its enemies. They already see it as a factory shipping cultural collectivism and resent the purchase it has on the nation\u2019s affections.<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/strong> has sued several US<\/strong> outlets so far in his second term \u2013 some cases of which have been thrown out in the courts.<\/p>\n For example there\u2019s the $15bn case he brought against the New York Times and two of its reporters, for a series of news articles and a book about his time on the show The Apprentice, and his earlier life.<\/p>\n That case had argued that reporting describing Trump\u2019s multimillion-dollar inheritance from his father as a product of \u201cfraudulent tax evasion schemes\u201d was false and defamatory.<\/p>\n However as my colleague, Guardian US\u2019 politics and democracy reporter George Chidi<\/strong> wrote in September, a federal judge tossed out the lawsuit in September describing the claim as filled with \u201cvituperation and invective\u201d and violating civil procedure in federal cases for failing to get to the point.<\/p>\n Trump refiled the case in October- tending a much shorter submission this time around. The lawsuit is ongoing.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.13 EST<\/p>\n As well as voicing his thoughts on the BBC<\/strong> and Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s lawsuit threat at today\u2019s at prime minister\u2019s questions (PMQs)<\/strong>, Ed Davey<\/strong> also reiterated his call to Keir Starmer<\/strong> to tell the US president<\/strong> to drop his demand for a $1bn settlement from the BBC, in a post on X.<\/p>\n The Liberal Democrat leader wrote after PMQs:<\/p>\n Donald Trump is coming for the BBC and for your wallets. I urged the prime minister to stand up for the 23.8 million licence fee paying households, and tell Trump he won\u2019t get a penny.<\/p>\n During parliament, Davey had told MPs that Trump had undermined press freedom in America and he was now trying to do the same thing in the UK, where he was being \u201cdisgracefully egged on\u201d by Reform leader Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.20 EST<\/p>\n Trump is threatening to sue the BBC in Florida over what he says was a deceptively edited documentary. He told Fox News the \u201cbutchered\u201d video made him seem far more \u201cradical\u201d in his speech on 6 January to supporters, many of whom later stormed the Capitol.<\/p>\n But the case would hinge on whether anyone in Florida watched it and felt misled. If there was an audience so affected, then a US court would need to determine whether the BBC had intentionally tried to deceive viewers.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s role in invoking political violence from his supporters on January 6, 2021, has already been thoroughly investigated.<\/p>\n A US congressional committee during Biden\u2019s term in the White House concluded that Trump was involved in a \u201cmulti-part conspiracy\u201d to overturn the legal results of the 2020 election.<\/p>\n That committee was led by Democrats but also had Republican members. Eight Republicans at the time voted with Democrats to indict Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election\u2019s results.<\/p>\n Prosecutors then charged Trump in 2023 with offences such as conspiracy to defraud the US, and obstructing official proceedings. But those criminal cases and the indictments did not prevent Trump from running for office again \u2013 and winning.<\/p>\n Since retaking the White House, the President has continued to downplay his actions on January 6, calling the Capitol riots as \u201ca day of love\u201d. On his first day in office this year he granted clemency to all those charged for storming the Capitol, including those already convicted for their violent acts.<\/p>\n Last weekend he also issued preemptive pardons to several of his allies involved in seeking to overturn the 2020 election vote.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.04 EST<\/p>\n Frances Mao<\/span><\/p>\n How exactly did the BBC deal with the Trump video edit complaint when it came to their attention?<\/p>\n A reminder to readers, the complaint did not come from the White House or Trump himself, nor did it come from viewers who watched the programme when it was broadcast last year.<\/p>\n Instead it was raised internally by Michael Prescott<\/strong> and David Grossman<\/strong>, external advisers on the BBC\u2019s ethics and standards committee. Grossman had undertaken a review of BBC News\u2019s entire US election coverage last year, which also raised other concerns about balanced reporting. (For example, he said the BBC had put too much emphasis on a poll which appeared to show Kamala Harris on track to winning the 2024 vote.)<\/p>\n Samir Shah<\/strong>, Chair of the BBC\u2019s board, published a letter to a parliamentary committee on Monday detailing what action was taken in response to the Trump edit.<\/p>\n He said the standards panel had discussed the issue at a meeting in January, and again in May.<\/p>\n BBC News had told the standards panel that the purpose of editing the clip \u201cwas to convey the message of the speech made by President Trump so that Panorama\u2019s audience could better understand how it had been received by President Trump\u2019s supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time\u201d, Shah said.<\/p>\n The Panorama programme was informed of the complaint but no further action was taken. \u201cWith hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action,\u201d Shah wrote.<\/p>\n He said after Prescott\u2019s letter was leaked and published by a UK tabloid last week, the edit had drawn over 500 complaints and prompted \u201cfurther refection\u201d by the board.<\/p>\n Shah conceded that there had been an \u201cerror of judgement\u201d made, and the BBC wished to apologise for it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.22 EST<\/p>\n Starmer also said the BBC must \u201cget its house in order\u201d in regards to editorial mistakes.<\/p>\n However he added he supported a strong and independent BBC, and the case for impartiality is \u201cstronger than ever\u201d in an age of disinformation.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in a strong and independent BBC. Some would rather the BBC didn\u2019t exist. Some of them are sitting up there. I\u2019m not one of them.”<\/p>\n \u201cIn an age of disinformation, the argument for impartial British news service is stronger than ever, and where mistakes are made, they do need to get their house in order, and the BBC must uphold the highest standards to be accountable and correct errors quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.44 EST<\/p>\n Andrew Sparrow<\/span><\/p>\n Ed Davey,<\/strong> the Lib Dem leader, says President Trump \u201cis trying to destroy our BBC, not because he cares about the truth, but because he doesn\u2019t want to get away with his lies\u201d. Will the PM tell Trump to drop his demand for a $1bn settlement from the BBC.<\/p>\n Starmer<\/strong> says he will always stand up for a \u201cstrong, independent BBC\u201d.<\/p>\n Davey<\/strong> says the Tories also undermined the BBC. They put two cronies on the BBC board. One, Robbie Gibb, is still there. Will the PM sack him now?<\/p>\n Starmer<\/strong> says he agrees the last government undermined the BBC; they undermined almost everything, he says.<\/p>\n But he says he won\u2019t go into the internal workings of the BBC.<\/p>\n More from PMQs here.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.45 EST<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look again at the 12-second clip that\u2019s triggered this lawsuit threat from President Trump.<\/p>\n A comparison of the original and edited footage shows how the BBC selectively edited a Donald Trump speech from January 6 2021, resulting in the organisation being accused of making it appear clearer that he encouraged the US Capitol attack.<\/p>\n <\/span>Side-by-side comparison of BBC-edited Trump speech from day of Capitol attack with original \u2013 video<\/span><\/p>\n This was one scene in the hour-long Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance?<\/em> about Trump\u2019s supporters and his political prospects in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. It followed some of Trump\u2019s most ardent supporters who wanted to get him back in the White House<\/p>\n The BBC broadcast the documentary in October 2024, one week before Trump won the election on 5 November.<\/p>\n They did not receive any reader complaints on it at the time. It was brought to the attention of the board\u2019s ethics and standards committee, and discussed, at meetings in January and May this year.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.58 EST<\/p>\n Margaret Sullivan, Guardian US\u2019s media politics and culture columnist, argues the BBC\u2019s editing error was bad, but the response is over the top.<\/em><\/p>\n The BBC\u2019s error in a documentary film about Donald Trump was a serious one. During the editing, two clips of the president speaking to his riled-up crowd of followers in Washington were juxtaposed, even though there was nearly an hour between the two. The edited version could have made viewers believe Trump had made an unmistakable call for violence at the US Capitol that day. He did make inflammatory statements, of course, and he does bear significant responsibility for the riot at the Capitol that day, but he skirted the direct instruction that the film suggested.<\/p>\n So, yes, this was a bad mistake that was not adequately acknowledged or corrected when there was a chance to do so. That is something that calls for internal examination and external acknowledgment, some of which has occurred.<\/p>\n But the current aftermath of the long-ago error \u2013 the film was published last year before the US presidential election \u2013 is significantly out of proportion.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.23 EST<\/p>\n Frances Mao<\/span><\/p>\n Jonathan Munro, the deputy head of news, and the News Board will address staff working in the news division in a meeting this afternoon.<\/p>\n It follows yesterday\u2019s all-staff call, where outgoing director general Tim Davie said there had been a \u201cweaponisation\u201d of criticism, and urged staff to carry on with their work.<\/p>\n BBC board Chair Samir Shah in the call also deflected questions from staff as to why the board had not acted sooner to defend their journalism.<\/p>\n Munro has taken charge of all editorial newsmaking decisions in the wake of Deborah Turness stepping down as head of the news division.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.49 EST<\/p>\n You can see the relevant parts of Donald Trump\u2019s interview with Fox News\u2019 Laura Ingraham here, outlining his stance on the BBC.<\/p>\n <\/span>Donald Trump says he has ‘obligation’ to sue BBC in Fox News interview \u2013 video<\/span>Share<\/p>\n The threat to sue the BBC follows various other warnings by the US president against media companies<\/strong> who he has disagreed with.<\/p>\n In July, Paramount, parent company of CBS News, chose to settle a case in which Trump had argued that the company had violated consumer protection laws by misleadingly editing a 60 Minutes interview of then vice-president Kamala Harris. Legal experts had not viewed it as a strong case for the president but company leadership saw it as an unnecessary distraction, particularly as it sought US government approval of a merger with Skydance Media. Paramount ultimately paid $16m.<\/p>\n Trump also won a settlement last year from ABC, owned by Disney, which he had sued over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos. ABC agreed to pay $15m.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.11 EST<\/p>\n The letter from Donald Trump\u2019s lawyer to the BBC sets a deadline of 14 November \u2013 this Friday<\/strong> \u2013 for it to respond and calls for a \u201cfull and fair retraction\u201d of the documentary, an apology, and that the BBC \u201cappropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused\u201d. If it does not comply then it says he will launch his $1bn legal action.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Starmer declines to agree to Ed Davey\u2019s call for him to tell Trump to drop his $1bn against BBC Andrew Sparrow Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, says President Trump \u201cis trying to destroy our BBC, not because he cares about the truth, but because he doesn\u2019t want to get away with his lies\u201d. Will<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[4564,1348,7479,7768,4136,14263,1193,3289,1347,1162,81,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-33049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-1bn","9":"tag-backs","10":"tag-bbc","11":"tag-declines","12":"tag-drop","13":"tag-independent","14":"tag-latest","15":"tag-lawsuit","16":"tag-starmer","17":"tag-threat","18":"tag-trump","19":"tag-updates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What action did the BBC take to address the Trump edit issue?<\/h2>\n
Starmer declines to agree to Ed Davey\u2019s call for him to tell Trump to drop his $1bn against BBC<\/h2>\n
Acting BBC news head to address journalists this afternoon<\/h2>\n