The BBC has announced that it is “ready to defend“ against any legal action brought by US President Donald Trump. The media outlet said that there is no basis for a defamation case in connection with the editing and editing of one of his speeches, Reuters reports, quoted by BTA.
Trump announced on Friday that he would likely file a lawsuit against the BBC this week for $ 5 billion. According to him, the media outlet had combined two separate parts of his speech, creating the impression that he was inciting the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021.
BBC President Samir Shah sent a personal letter to Trump apologizing for the editing of his speech. However, the British media outlet categorically denies that there is any basis for a defamation claim against it.
Trump told reporters that he would seek damages of between $1 billion and $5 billion: "I think I should, I mean they even admitted they cheated," he said.
Today, Shah sent an email to BBC staff, in which he clarified that there is a lot of speculation about possible legal action, including potential costs or settlements.
“In all of this, we are of course fully aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our license fee payers and the British public,“ Shah said in the statement.
“I want to be very clear - our position has not changed. "There is no basis for a defamation lawsuit and we are determined to fight this," he added in the letter to employees.