WATCH: BBC Head Resigns Amid Trump’s Threat of $1 Billion Lawsuit Over Shady Edit of January 6 Documentary
By Space Coast Daily // November 10, 2025
documentary spliced together two sections of Trump's speech, made nearly an hour apart
WATCH: A 2024 BBC Panorama documentary broadcast omitted Trump’s line, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” while retaining the phrase “fight like hell.” (The Guardian video)
LONDON, UK – The BBC is facing a major leadership shake-up and potential legal action following controversy over the editing of President Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech.
Director-General Tim Davie and head of BBC News and Current Affairs Deborah Turness both resigned following a leaked memo by former BBC adviser Michael Prescott, which said the program edited two parts of President Trump’s speech together, giving the impression he explicitly encouraged the Capitol Hill riots.
A 2024 Panorama documentary broadcast omitted Trump’s line, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” while retaining the phrase “fight like hell.”
THE EDIT: The documentary spliced together two sections of President Trump’s speech, made nearly an hour apart, creating the impression that the president directly told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
THE OMISSION: The key omission was a part of the speech in which Trump urged supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: The documentary also showed footage of marchers heading to the Capitol that was filmed before Trump began speaking.
In response to the controversy, President Trump has threatened the BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit. In a letter from his legal team, he demanded that the BBC “immediately retract” the Panorama program by November 14, calling it “false and defamatory.”
BBC Chair Samir Shah publicly apologized for an “error of judgment” over the edit and said the corporation was reviewing how to respond to Trump’s legal threat.
The controversy intensified after The Telegraph published excerpts from Prescott’s whistleblower dossier, which also criticized BBC coverage on transgender issues and alleged bias in the BBC Arabic service.
President Trump responded to the resignations on Truth Social, calling the BBC leadership “corrupt” and accusing the broadcaster of attempting to influence a U.S. presidential election. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the BBC as “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine.”
The BBC has not yet announced who will replace Davie or Turness and is reportedly reviewing its editorial standards and internal processes amid growing scrutiny.
