Trump's £7.5billion defamation case against BBC can proceed, judge rules

Published: 03:25 EST, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 03:25 EST, 11 November 2026 A judge has rejected an attempt to throw out a £7.5billion defamation case brought against the BBC by Donald Trump.The President filed a lawsuit last December over a Panorama documentary that spliced together parts of a speech he gave at the Capitol to make it appear he urged violence.A Florida court has now refused to dismiss the defamation claim, saying Mr Trump 'plausibly alleged' he suffered reputational harm as a result of the edit.The ruling did not decide whether Mr Trump's claims were proven.Mr Trump has hailed the decision as a 'huge victory'.Writing on Truth Social he said: '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!' A judge has rejected an attempt to throw out a £7.5billion defamation case brought against the BBC by Donald Trump (file image)The 2024 documentary faced criticism for giving the impression Mr Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building on January 6 2021 after he lost the 2020 White House race to Joe Biden.Allegations against the documentary led the then-BBC director-general Tim Davie to announce his resignation.BBC chairman Samir Shah apologised on behalf of the broadcaster over an 'error of judgment' and accepted the editing of the programme gave 'the impression of a direct call for violent action'.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'.Court documents filed in the United States District Court in Florida on Tuesday state: 'Trump has plausibly alleged a comprehensive framework of actual malice by alleging the context in which the speech was edited along with a long list of circumstantial evidence to support a showing of actual malice with respect to the edit.'A claim from Mr Trump's legal team accusing the broadcaster of unfair trade practices was dismissed.The BBC said: '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 BBC has been ordered to file a response to the ruling by December 1.