Donald Trump condemns BBC over Panorama video scandal
In a leaked memo, Michael Prescott exposed the BBC for allegedly manipulating a Donald Trump speech to suggest he incited the Capitol Hill riots during a Panorama episode. Prescott, an independent external adviser to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC) until June 2024, sent a critical internal report to the BBC Board after warnings to the standards watchdog were ignored.
Details of the doctored footage
The memo reveals that the broadcaster "doctored" the speech to make it appear as though Trump encouraged his supporters to riot. In reality, the president stated he would walk with them "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." The aired clip, broadcast in October 2024, instead showed Trump saying he would walk to the Capitol Hill to "fight like hell," misleading viewers.
Response from Trump’s White House
Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has strongly criticized the edited clip, calling it "100 per cent fake news." She joined calls for BBC leadership, including Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, to address the controversy amid rising international scrutiny.
"The mangled excerpt completely misled viewers by showing the president telling supporters he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to 'fight like hell', when he actually said he would walk with them 'to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard'."
Summary
Michael Prescott’s leaked memo accuses the BBC of distorting Trump's words to wrongly imply he incited the Capitol riot, igniting sharp criticism from Trump's team and calls for BBC accountability.
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