Donald Trump files $10bn lawsuit against the #BBC

Donald Trump has sued the BBC for $10bn over a misleading edit of a speech by the US president in a documentary, which he alleges was “fabricated” and defamatory.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, accuses the UK public broadcaster of publishing “a false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump” in a Panorama documentary that aired ahead of the 2024 US general election.

The BBC apologised to Trump last month over the documentary, which suggested he had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building on January 6 2021 as lawmakers ratified his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential election.

Trump brought the lawsuit in his personal capacity in a federal court in Florida, suing the BBC for one count of defamation and one count of violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The president is seeking at least $5bn in damages for each count.