Articles by Nicholas Cecil

Politics

'Apologise to Trump,' Starmer Government tells BBC as president threatens $1 billion lawsuit over 'fake news'

At a glance... • The BBC should apologise to Donald Trump over its mistake in editing one of his speeches, says the UK Government • A minister also declined to back the Corporation against the $1 billion legal threat from the US president • The Conservatives said the BBC should “grovel” to Trump The BBC should apologise to Donald Trump over the editing of one of his speeches, says Sir Keir Starmer’s Government as the “fake news” storm engulfing the Corporation grows. A minister also declined to back the BBC against the $1 billion legal threat by the US president. Local government minister Alison McGovern, on the morning media round for the Government, said the Corporation should say sorry to Trump for the splicing together of clips of the president’s speech which made it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”, omitting a section about peaceful protest. The BBC has apologised for the editing but not directly to the US president. Asked if the Corporation should apologise to the US president, Ms McGovern said: “If they have made an editorial mistake, then they should apologise. “The BBC is probably chock-full of policies on what they should do when they make editorial mistakes and I think they should stick to it.” Earlier, the minister sought to avoid being dragged into the legal showdown between the BBC and Trump. “The president can say what he wants. He will do, we know that,” she said when asked on Times Radio whether Trump was entitled to sue the BBC. Pressed on US president’s lawsuit threat rather than just his words, she added: “That’s for him and the BBC I’m sure will respond to whatever happens.” Sir Keir has assiduously courted Trump, praising him with flattery, which has delivered some political pay-offs including Britain striking the first trade deal with US to limit the impact of tariffs. But critics say the Prime Minister has failed at times to stand up to the US president, compared to some other world leaders who have taken a more robust approach to Trump. As the “fake news” row spiralled, shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston suggested the BBC should “grovel” to Trump over its mistake. “If you look at the complaint he’s got, the Panorama programme, he probably has legitimate claims to say, look, this was wrong and definitely requires and demands an apology.,” he told Times Radio. “So I would advise the BBC to grovel here.” However, there were reports that the Corporation may refuse to bow to Trump’s demands for damages with questions over whether he would win the case if it went to court. As the BBC crisis continued, Ms McGovern also suggested the furore was being overblown. “The question I have is, has there been bad editing here? Has there been issues? “If there has, the answer to that is to get better editing and to invest in quality journalism and sort the problems out. “I don’t think we need to have a national meltdown about this. “I think we need to make sure that the BBC, one of our most trusted media organisations, invests in quality journalism and tells the stories that we all want to hear.” Trump has given the BBC a deadline of Friday to retract “false” and “defamatory” statements made about him in a Panorama documentary, or face a $1 billion lawsuit. The US president threatened legal action after a report from Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised concerns that a speech Trump had made before the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021 had been selectively edited by the BBC. BBC chairman Samir Shah has apologised for an “error of judgment” and two of the corporation’s most senior figures, chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness and director-general Tim Davie, resigned from their positions on Sunday. The Prescott memo raised concerns about the way clips of Trump’s speech were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell,” excluding a section about peaceful protest. The letter, from Trump counsel Alejandro Brito, demands that “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about Trump must be retracted immediately. Critics said the Panorama edit was misleading and removed a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. A BBC spokesperson said: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.” Mr Trump’s lawyer adds: “Failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to recover damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that the BBC has caused him to suffer, with all rights and remedies being expressly reserved by President Trump.” The letter says if the BBC “does not comply” Trump will be “left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars in damages.” The White House may also consider restricting the corporation’s access to “open press events” as a result of the edit, according to a senior official quoted in the Telegraph. Trump has a history of suing news organisations in the US and previously settled a defamation case against ABC News after star anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely said he had been found “liable for rape”. Trump also settled a legal dispute with CBS News over an interview it broadcast on its 60 Minutes programme with former vice president Kamala Harris. He is currently engaged in legal action with the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Trump has also taken action against the Associated Press after the wire service refused to call the Gulf of Mexico by his preferred name for it: the Gulf of America. Responding to a letter from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mr Shah said there have been more than 500 complaints since the publication of Mr Prescott’s memo raising concerns about the editing of Panorama. He said: “We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.” However, he said it is “simply not true” that Mr Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC), “uncovered” issues that the BBC has sought to “bury”. Downing Street has said the BBC is not corrupt nor institutionally biased, appearing to hit back at critics of the public broadcaster including Trump.