Starmer says he is yet to speak with Trump over Panorama incident

The Prime Minister has vowed to defend a “trusted independent BBC” as he confirmed he is yet to speak with US President Donald Trump over the Panorama incident.

Mr Trump said last week he would sue the corporation following its apology over the editing of a 2021 speech broadcast by Panorama.

The BBC apologised for the edit of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021, which had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.

Despite the apology, Mr Trump said he would proceed with legal action for “anywhere between 1 billion dollars (£759.8 million) and 5 billion dollars (£3.79 billion)”.

He also said he would be speaking to the Prime Minister over the incident, however Sir Keir said that discussion has yet to take place.

“I have not directly spoken to him about the BBC,” Sir Keir said.

“I think he was going to phone me at the weekend but that call didn’t happen but we regularly have contact.

“I speak to him fairly regularly as you know, (we) have an excellent relationship.”

Sir Keir also said any editorial failings should be addressed “quickly”, but added: “The principle of an independent trusted BBC is really important and should be defended.

“So where (there are) editorial failings, yes of course that has to be addressed as you would expect and as soon as possible, with explanation.

“But the principle of a trusted independent BBC media is really important – we have to defend it.”

The BBC has said it will not air the Panorama episode Trump: A Second Chance? again, and published a retraction on the show’s webpage.

BBC chairman Samir Shah last week sent a personal letter to the White House to apologise for the editing, and lawyers for the corporation wrote to the president’s legal team, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said.

BBC News reported that the broadcaster had set out five main arguments in its letter to Mr Trump’s legal team as to why it did not believe there was a basis for a defamation claim.

It said the BBC did not distribute the Panorama episode on its US channels and it was restricted on iPlayer to viewers in the UK; that the documentary did not cause Mr Trump harm as he was later re-elected; that the edit was not done with malice and was designed to shorten a long speech; that it was not meant to be considered in isolation but as part of an hour-long programme; and that an opinion on a matter of public concern and political speech is heavily protected under defamation laws in the US.

The Panorama scandal saw the resignations of two of the BBC’s most senior executives: director-general Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness.