Trump Threatens $1 Billion Lawsuit Against BBC After Top Executives Resign Over Edited Speech

President Donald Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion, accusing Britain’s public broadcaster of manipulating one of his speeches to influence last year’s U.S. presidential election. His legal team confirmed the move to NBC News on Monday, saying the network “intentionally and deceitfully” edited his remarks.

The threat comes just one day after the resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness, who stepped down Sunday amid growing backlash over editorial practices at the 103-year-old institution.

With the resignations, Trump has become a central voice in the debate over the future of the BBC, a network now facing fierce criticism from Britain’s political right.

BBC Chairman Samir Shah apologized Monday, calling the decision to alter the broadcast an “error of judgment.” The controversy stems from a “Panorama” program that spliced together two parts of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech—keeping his call to “fight” but removing the portion urging protesters to act “peacefully.”

“The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team told NBC News. “President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”

A BBC spokesperson said only, “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”

Trump celebrated the resignations on Truth Social, writing, “The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th. These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”

The backlash began after Britain’s Daily Telegraph revealed an internal memo that criticized the edited speech and highlighted broader editorial problems at the network. The revelations quickly spread through conservative media in the U.K. and U.S., eventually drawing in the White House.

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Telegraph on Friday that the BBC had been “purposefully dishonest” and called it “100 per cent fake news.”

Arriving at BBC headquarters Monday, Turnes rejected Trump’s accusations. “Of course our journalists aren’t corrupt,” she said. “Our journalists are hardworking people who strive for impartiality. The buck stops with me. But I’d like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased.”

Davie also took responsibility, saying, “Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.”

Even among the BBC’s defenders, some admit reform is overdue. “I’m a big defender of the BBC. I worked there for 20 years. I think it’s one of the best things about Britain in a world of fake news and deliberately opinionated channels,” said former BBC journalist Guto Harri told NBC. “But there is a default at the organization toward the liberal left. If it has a reputation for being the most trusted news operation in the world, it really cannot mess up on major things like this.”

Nigel Farage, a close Trump ally and leader of Britain’s Reform Party, went further, telling NBC, “The BBC has been institutionally biased for decades. The license fee as it currently is cannot survive. It is wholly unsustainable.”

The BBC’s funding has long been mired in controversy. Viewers must pay a compulsory fee of about $230 annually, with fines or even jail time for nonpayment. Supporters argue the fee funds a vast range of services—from TV and radio to digital platforms and the BBC World Service, which reaches an audience of roughly 450 million globally.

Despite its global prestige, the BBC now faces criticism from both the political right and left, including over its coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The network’s Royal Charter, which determines its funding, is set to expire in 2027, just as Farage rises in the polls and public trust in institutions wavers.