00:00Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion over a Panorama documentary episode.
00:07He claims the programme defamed him by selectively editing his January 6th, 2021 speech.
00:13In an exclusive interview with The Independent,
00:16media lawyer Rupert Kalper-Coles explains why the corporation needs to take the lawsuit seriously.
00:21Damages in England are now limited to £300,000 for general reputational damage.
00:31Damages in the US can be much higher, but $1 billion is an exorbitant sum.
00:38The First Amendment, the US Constitution, affords extra protection.
00:43It's generally harder to sue in the US.
00:46There's also a landmark rule called Sullivan in New York Times,
00:50which means for a public figure to succeed in a libel claim in the US,
00:56they need to show actual malice by the publisher.
00:59So they need to show that the BBC knew what it was publishing was false or was reckless in publishing it.
01:05UK, the English courts would be very unlikely to consider President Trump's motives in bringing a libel claim.
01:13It may be political theatre, but I think the BBC have a right to be taking it seriously.
01:20I think it would be very concerning if British media organisations were ever subjected to a damages award of anything close to the figures that President Trump is demanding.
01:36Since the 1990s, the cap on damages and defamation in England has been only a few hundred thousand pounds.
01:48And the reason that that cap has been imposed is to stop the chilling effect of enormous damages awards that can effectively bankrupt a media organisation here,
02:00and to stop the chilling effect that has on investigative reporting.
02:05So if a Florida claim was to proceed and an award of that was made,
02:12I think it's something that has much wider implications for British media and free speech.
02:18So far, 35,000 people have backed a petition calling for the BBC to rule out compensating Trump as his legal threat looms.
02:28The petition states that any financial payment to Trump would be inappropriate and against the ethos of public service broadcasting,
02:36and demands that any compensation paid should be refunded to TV licence payers.
02:41This comes after outgoing Director General Tim Davey urged BBC staff to fight for its journalism.
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