A view of the BBC building as BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness have resigned after revelations that a documentary about U.S. President Donald Trump contained edited and misleading footage related to the 2021 Capitol riot, in London, United States on November 10, 2025.
Rasid Necati Aslim | Anadolu | Getty Images
BBC News said on Monday the broadcaster had received a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump threatening legal action over the edit of a documentary broadcast a week before the U.S. presidential election.
The BBC has acknowledged the Trump speech edit gave a misleading impression and should have been handled more carefully.
The documentary broadcast last year had spliced together two parts of a Trump speech so he appeared to be encouraging the Capitol Hill riot of January 2021.
Samir Shah, the chairman of the publicly-funded broadcaster, said in an interview with BBC News that it was “considering” how to respond to Trump’s communication.
When prompted about whether Trump would be suing the BBC, Shah said: “I do not know that yet, but he’s a litigious fellow, so we should be prepared for all outcomes.”