Major update on Trump $10bn lawsuit against BBC as trial date set

US President Donald Trump is pursuing a $10 billion (£7.5 billion) defamation lawsuit against the BBC over the editing of a January 6, 2021, speech. A Florida judge has scheduled the case for a two-week trial at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, starting February 15, 2027.

Court documents list Trump as the plaintiff and the British Broadcasting Corporation, among others, as defendants. The lawsuit centers on a Panorama episode broadcast in 2024, which critics said gave the impression that Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

The episode included a clip of Trump’s January 6 speech that was edited to show him saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” Trump’s legal team argues that the editing was “false and defamatory,” and he is seeking up to $10 billion in damages.

The BBC has sought to dismiss the case, arguing that the Florida court lacks jurisdiction, the venue is improper, and Trump has “failed to state a claim.” The corporation also contends that it did not produce or broadcast the program in Florida and that it was not available in the U.S. on the streaming service BritBox, as claimed by Trump.

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.”