The British Broadcasting Corporation has issued a rare public apology to the U.S. President Donald Trump after a controversial edit in the January 6 speech that was alleged as cause of the capitol riot.

Trump had accused the BBC of misleading the public by presenting his January 6, 2021 speech as though he directly encouraged violence ahead of the Capitol riot. The disputed footage appeared in a Panorama documentary titled Trump: A Second Chance?

The former president demanded a full retraction, an apology, and compensation, insisting the broadcaster had until tomorrow to respond to his $1 billion lawsuit threat.

According to him, the programme created a false narrative by stitching together separate parts of his speech to look like a single, continuous call to action.

In a statement released on Friday, the BBC admitted the segment was an “error of judgment” and confirmed that the documentary would not air again in its original form on any of its platforms. The organisation, however, maintained that despite the flawed edit, it did not believe Trump had grounds for a defamation claim.

The BBC has since taken down the episode from its website and replaced it with a formal correction. The notice explained that the edit unintentionally suggested Trump had issued a direct call for violence, something the footage did not explicitly show when viewed in full.

Trump, reacting earlier in the week, insisted he had no option but to sue. He described the edit as dishonest and accused the BBC of “defrauding the public.” He also cited the resignation of Director-General Tim Davie and other senior staff as evidence of the gravity of the situation.

Speaking on Fox News, Trump doubled down, saying he felt an “obligation” to take legal action, warning that he would pursue no less than $1 billion in damages if the BBC failed to remedy the issue.

At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the BBC as a “Leftist propaganda machine” and criticised the fact that it is funded by British taxpayers. She added that Trump’s legal team is expected to press on with the case.

BBC chairman Samir Shah also apologised earlier in the week, describing the edited clip as an unfortunate lapse in editorial judgment, one that has now contributed to the resignation of top executives, including Davie and Deborah Turness, the corporation’s former head of news.