Starmer Backs Independent BBC as Trump Sets Friday Deadline in $1 Billion Legal Threat

Overview

• Trump’s attorneys sent a formal notice on Monday giving the BBC until Friday at 22:00 GMT to retract, remove the Panorama program, apologize, and pay at least $1 billion in damages, and the broadcaster says it will respond in due course.
• In a Fox News interview, the president said he feels an obligation to sue, accusing the BBC of misleading the public and misrepresenting his remarks.
• The BBC has acknowledged an error of judgment over the edit, with Chairman Samir Shah apologizing and Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness resigning over the fallout.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament he will defend a strong, independent BBC while urging the corporation to put its house in order and correct mistakes quickly.
• The contested segment joined separate parts of Trump’s Jan. 6 address—spoken nearly an hour apart—in a way critics say conveyed a call to violence that was not delivered as aired.