‘BBC must not pay Trump a penny’: Why insiders want ‘Flintoff solution’ to lawsuit

 The BBC must not pay a penny of licence fee money to Donald Trump, insiders urged, as the corporation vowed to defend a $10bn (£7.4bn) lawsuit filed by the the US President.

The corporation faces mounting pressure to resolve the legal action over a misleading edit of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.

Trump’s legal team accused the BBC of defaming him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech” in the episode, which aired in the UK ahead of the 2024 US election when Trump ran for a second term.

The BBC has acknowledged that the splicing together of two sections of the speech had given “the mistaken impression” he had “made a direct call for violent action” from his supporters at the Capitol.

The incident led to the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness, but the BBC disagreed that there was any basis for a defamation claim.

‘Pay Trump $10m to drop suit’

An influential ally of the President, Chris Ruddy, owner of right-wing media outlet Newsmax, advised the BBC to offer to settle for $10m ($7.4m). Fighting the suit, filed in a Florida court, would cost the BBC $50m to $100m, he claimed.

But a BBC spokesperson said: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

BBC staffers believe the broadcaster’s reputation as a global force for independent news is at stake, and have told bosses they must not cave in to Trump.

One news figure said: “The lawsuit must be fought if necessary. There is no merit to the claims. It’s about intimidating a free media. Licence fee payers will not accept any of their money being funnelled to this President in a craven settlement.”

Nihal Arthanayake, who presented shows on Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 during a 23-year career at the BBC, told The i Paper: “It would be much better for the BBC’s global reputation if it stood up to Trump. Yes, they got this edit wrong, two heads have already rolled but this is bullying. His lawsuit is absurd. They shouldn’t pay him a penny.”

If the President successfully sued for $5bn, that would more than match the BBC’s entire income from the TV licence fee of £3.7bn in 2024.

‘Flintoff solution’

One former executive said the BBC could consider a “Flintoff solution” to the crisis.

Andrew Flintoff reached a £9m settlement in 2023 over the Top Gear crash which left him with serious injuries. The money came from BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial wing, allowing the BBC to say no licence fee payers’ money was involved.

The executive said: “If the BBC has to offer a settlement having admitted an error, a way should be found to avoid using licence fee money. It could come from Studios or the BBC would be clear that its insurance against claims covered the cost.”

In the Flintoff case however, BBC Studios was directly responsible as it owns the Top Gear brand.

No ‘reputational harm’

BBC insiders maintain they have a robust defence against the lawsuit. Its lawyers do not accept that the Panorama was available to view in Florida, despite Trump’s claim that it could be seen through VPNs and the Britbox streaming platform.

The BBC will argue that the documentary clearly had no “reputational” impact, since Trump won Florida at the election, increasing his 2016 margin of victory against Joe Biden, The i Paper understands.

There was no malice against Trump, just an “unintentially misleading” editorial error, insists the BBC, which can also rely on First Amendment “freedom of speech” protections.

Confirmation of the threatened lawsuit came as a blow to the BBC, which is about to begin negotiations with ministers over a new Charter, setting out its funding and governance arrangements for the next decade.

In her green paper on the BBC’s future, published on Tuesday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy warned that the licence fee was now “outdated” and said the BBC should be given a new obligation to counter “disinformation”. She admitted concerns over a number of recent editorial failings in its news department.

If the BBC takes on Trump headlong in the courts, a vengeful President could try to block the corporation’s ambitions to extend its commercial interests in the US, where it has begun charging users a subscription for full access to its news content. There are fears that the BBC’s Washington DC reporting team could lose its White House credentials.

The BBC services that could close to pay Trump

Some media insiders believe the BBC will end up falling in line with US media companies who have settled with Trump over complaints about their presidential election coverage.

Paramount Global agreed to pay $16m (£13.5m) to settle a legal dispute regarding the editing of a pre-election interview it broadcast on CBS with former vice president Kamala Harris.

That figure equates to the budget of the BBC’s Radio 6 Music, which has 2.7 million listeners, according to the corporation’s annual report.

ABC News agreed to pay $15m (£12m) to Trump, plus $1m towards the President’s legal fees, after its star anchor George Stephanopoulos made false statements about his personal life.

If 6 Music were spared, that sum could be covered by closing its CBBC productions or the CBeebies pre-school channel.

Sacrificing Radio 4 could fund a $100m settlement with Trump, who has dismissed the BBC’s apology for the editing.

One BBC figure said: “There are vital negotiations over the licence fee coming next year and the BBC needs to get this off the table and move on. Someone needs to broker a compromise. Perhaps a settlement could go to a charitable cause.”