Trump slams BBC as ‘terrible abuser of the truth’ after judge rules on defamation lawsuit

Résumé détaillé

Both the US president and the BBC have issued statements as the Trump-appointed judge has allowed the $10bn (£7.5 billion) defamation lawsuit against BBC to proceed

President Donald Trump has issued a statement after a federal judge ruled that his lawsuit against the BBC can proceed, partially denying the British national broadcaster's motion to dmiss the case.

Federal judge Jeffrey T Kuntz made the ruling on Tuesday that the president's $10bn (£7.5 billion) defamation lawsuit can continue.

Trump is seeking substantial damages in a Florida court over the editing of a 2024 Panorama documentary about the US Capitol riots. The documentary faced criticism for giving the impression Trump had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building on January 6 2021 after he lost the 2020 White House race to Joe Biden.

The BBC had been seeking to have the case thrown out, warning of the “chilling effect” it would have on “robust reporting on public figures and events”.

In a statement made on Truth Social, the president took to social media to hail the decision, saying: "A Huge Victory against Fake News BBC, a terrible abuser of the truth, just handed down by highly respected District Court Judge, Jeffrey T. Kuntz, of the Southern District of Florida.

"In his powerful ruling, Judge Kuntz wrote, “Here, the news entity created the story. BBC admitted as much by confirming it had edited a video to make it appear as though President Trump made a statement he never made.”

"We will continue fighting against, and defeating, all of those who try to deceive the American People! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"

A BBC spokesperson said in a statement: “We are surprised by this decision but respect the Court’s authority and note the case will now proceed to the next stage. We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process. It would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing.”

The allegations against the documentary led the then-BBC director-general Tim Davie to announce his resignation.

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