Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA

Scotland's first minister says the former Conservative adviser Robbie Gibb should quit the board of the BBC, amid questions about the corporation's impartiality.

Gibb served as director of communications for Theresa May when she was in Downing Street before his appointment to the broadcaster's board.

John Swinney says a former political figure such as Gibb undermines the broadcaster's authority and impartiality, at a time when the latter is an "active point of debate".

The first minister stops short of stating he believes the BBC to be "institutionally biased", but he says there have been occasions when he has questioned its impartiality.

He says: "If the BBC wants to be viewed as an impartial organisation that's authoritative, that reflects the independence of commentary, then I think Robbie Gibb's position is untenable."

Robbie Gibb has been approached for comment.

US media including the New York Times and Fox News are reporting a letter said to be from US President Donald Trump's legal team sent to the BBC.

It gives the BBC a deadline of Friday 14 November at 22:00 GMT (17:00 EST) to make a "full and fair retraction" of the Panorama documentary - or face being sued for $1bn (£760m).

It reads: "If the BBC does not comply with the above by November 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST, President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages. The BBC is on notice."

• We're working to bring you the letter sent to the BBC - and we’ll have more details as soon as we get them

The BBC has responded to criticism about the editing of a Panorama documentary which showed a sequence of Donald Trump's 6 January 2021 speech - and is one of the issues raised in Prescott's leaked memo.

The broadcaster says the programme - which aired back in October 2024 - stitched together two different parts of Trump's speech made on that day and made it look like a single continuous section.

The two sections that were edited together, however, were more than 50 minutes apart.

It also confirms that, immediately after those excerpts, the programme showed a clip of a far-right Proud Boys group marching to the Capitol.

However, this footage was filmed before Trump began his speech.

"Consequently, this gave the impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement," the broadcaster says.

BBC News says there was no intention to mislead.

The aim, it notes, was to convey the key messages of the speech in a "condensed format", as the full speech lasted over an hour, and to illustrate what was happening on the day.

BBC also says it has been suggested the programme removed the word "peacefully" from the clips of Trump's speech.

"To be clear, we did not do so," it says.

Can Trump sue the BBC for defamation?published at 15:19 GMT 10 November

15:19 GMT 10 November

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Can Donald Trump sue the BBC for defamation? If he has got an arguable case and it’s in time - but defamation law is incredibly complex.

Defamation, in its simplest terms, protects someone’s good standing from an unjustified attack that lowers how the public view them to such an extent that it has caused lasting harm.

A claimant has to prove this harm before a judge - the person or media organisation facing the claim has potential defences, including that the words were in the public interest or an honestly held opinion.

The claimant has to generally show they have begun their claim within a year of the first publication, a rule that also applies to online archives.

There are exceptions - but given the Panorama at the heart of this story was first broadcast and made available on the BBC iPlayer more than a year ago, the potential difficulty in bringing a case to a London court is obvious.

However, the president might be thinking of suing in the US.

There, the law is different - with different deadlines by state. So it will depend if he can prove the programme was aired there, in time, and whether defamation is arguable in light of the country’s incredibly strong free speech guarantees.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier, we heard from callers on Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live about whether they trust the BBC.

Owen from Cambridge supports the BBC but says the Panorama edit is “absolutely unforgiveable”.

He wants more accountability from the Panorama team, asking, “why do they have a job and the director general doesn’t?”

Gerry in Nottingham says she is a “defender” of the BBC, but she thinks presenters and coverage of the broadcaster were “snotty” towards Trump - and needed to take him more seriously.

Phil in Monmouth says the BBC is “well worth” the £180 TV licence - but thinks the news is “wokey”, “slow, left wing, and nobody really follows it”.

But when it comes to sport, TV shows like The Traitors, and other entertainment, Phil says he’s “a big champion" of the broadcaster.

On the other side, Rory in Bournemouth thinks the BBC is too right wing.

“The amount of coverage they have given to Nigel Farage and the Reform party has resulted in the manipulation of the British public’s opinion,” he says.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House correspondent

Image source, Reuters

As we reported earlier, BBC News has learned that US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to the BBC threatening legal action.

The BBC said it has received the letter and will respond in due course.

The US president has a long history of suing - or threatening to sue - media outlets, with various outcomes.

In July, for example, CBS News and its parent company Paramount settled for $16 million (£13.5m) after being sued by Trump, who alleged deceptive editing of an interview with then vice-president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.

The same month, Trump filed a $10bn lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch over claims he wrote a birthday note to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The White House has repeatedly denied the letter was authentic and that lawsuit is still under way.

Other news outlets that have faced lawsuits from Trump include the New York Times, CNN and the Des Moines Register.

We've just heard from Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who's speaking to the BBC's Matt Chorley ahead of her Budget announcement later this month - more on that in our live page.

Asked about BBC director general Tim Davie's resignation, Reeves says she still has confidence in the organisation.

"The BBC is rightly held to high standards and they've fallen short on this occasion," she says.

"Lessons do need to be learned, but I've got a huge amount of respect for the BBC and I know they'll come back from this."

But the chancellor declined to comment on Donald Trump's legal threat to the BBC.

Michael Prescott, who wrote the leaked memo, is a former journalist who spent 10 years at the Sunday Times - first as chief political correspondent and then as political editor.

After leaving journalism, he became a corporate adviser and is now managing director at PR firm Hanover Communications.

Prescott’s memo was written after he stood down as one of two independent external advisers to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee. He resigned this summer after three years in the role.

In the introduction to the memo, he says his views "do not come with any political agenda".

"I think it is important to state that I have never been a member of any political party and do not hold any hard and fast views on matters such as American politics or disputes in the Middle East," he writes.

Image source, Reuters

On Sunday night, BBC director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness resigned from their positions.

It followed the publication of a leaked BBC memo - written by former adviser Michael Prescott - in the Telegraph newspaper last week. We've summarised the main claims here.

His accusation that a Panorama documentary misled viewers - for editing a speech by Donald Trump, making it look like he was explicitly urging people to attack the US Capitol - drew significant attention.

Announcing his resignation in emails to BBC staff yesterday, Davie said he was taking ultimate responsibility after "some mistakes" had been made.

Turness was approached by journalists as she arrived at Broadcasting House - the BBC's London headquarters - this morning. "The buck stops with me," she said, but insisted "BBC News is not institutionally biased".

A few hours later, we heard from BBC chair Samir Shah. He sent a letter to a parliamentary committee accepting an "error of judgement" had been made on the Trump documentary, and said the editing "did give the impression of a direct call for violent action".

Soon after, BBC News learned that the US president has sent the BBC a letter threatening legal action. The BBC has said it will respond in due course.

Stay with us for further updates, analysis and reaction.

Image source, PA Media

Shortly before we learned that Donald Trump was threatening the BBC with legal action, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged the government to condemn comments the US president made against the corporation last night.

On Sunday, Trump thanked the Telegraph, external newspaper for publishing the leaked memo and called the journalists involved in editing a speech used in a Panorama programme “corrupt” and "very dishonest".

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform’s Nigel Farage today, Davey said “it should not be up to foreign powers to dictate where the British people get their news from”.

“The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together,” says Davey.

Let's return briefly to comments from BBC Chair Samir Shah in the last hour or so.

If you missed it, he sent a letter MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and then gave an interview to our culture editor, Katie Razzall.

Here's what you need to know:

• Shah has apologised for the "error of judgement" that resulted in a misleading edit of a Donald Trump speech broadcast as part of a BBC Panorama programme

• He said he was unsure if Trump would threaten legal action against the BBC - since confirmed - and was considering apologising personally to the US president

• Shah later insisted that it is "simply not true" the organisation has done nothing to tackle problems, citing action taken at the BBC Arabic service and long form journalism unit

• The BBC board was "upset" by director general Tim Davie's resignation, he admitted - but would not be drawn on stepping down himself

• He also defended the BBC against allegations having "anti-Israel" bias
• The board will now revisit every item mentioned in the leaked memo from former advisor Michael Prescott, he said

BBC News has learned that President Donald Trump has sent a letter to the BBC threatening legal action.

The BBC has confirmed it has received the letter and will respond in due course.

In the leaked memo, Prescott claimed there was "anti-Israel bias" in BBC Arabic's coverage. He wrote that several contributors selectively covered stories that were critical of Israel.

Speaking now, Shah says he does not think there is a "systemic bias of anti-Israel" at the BBC.

He says the BBC is a massive organisation, and how much "excellent impartial journalism" it does do.

"It's disrespectful to BBC journalists up and down the country, across the world, to characterise them because of a mistake," he says.

With that, the interview comes to an end. Stay with us for updates and analysis on the key lines.

Asked about BBC News CEO Deborah Turness's decision to step down, Shah says it's not the job of the board to determine who should stay in the role.

"I did not want to lose Tim Davie" and "nor did any member of the board... we were upset by the decision."

"My job now is to ensure a smooth transition," Shah says, adding that Davie will help with this.

Asked whether he should have resigned, Shah says his job is to represent the public and ensure the journalism is impartial.

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

More lines now from BBC Chair Samir Shah's interview with our media editor Katie Razzall.

When asked if he is going to apologise directly to Donald Trump on behalf of the BBC, Shah says: "We have received communication from President Trump by his people and we are considering how to reply to him."

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

Shah emphasises that the BBC's "DNA and culture" is to be impartial, amid accusations of institutional bias.

That's not to say there aren't real issues though, he accepts.

On the Panorama documentary, the BBC chair says: “In hindsight, it would’ve been better to act earlier.”

Challenged on whether the BBC swept this under the carpet, Shah says "they should have acted earlier" and taken a more formal position on it.

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

Razzall presses Shah on whether he thinks former adviser Michael Prescott was wrong about systemic bias in the BBC - to which the chairman emphatically replies "yes".

He adds that the impression that Prescott has uncovered issues that the BBC somehow missed is “far from the truth”.

He insists that the various issues raised by Prescott's dossier are being taken seriously.

That includes "individual mistakes and underlying problems" - Shah says action is and has been taken on both.

Noor Nanji
Culture reporter

We're now seeing an interview with BBC Chair Samir Shah - given shortly after he published a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport committee.

Speaking to the BBC's Katie Razzall, he says the BBC is apologising for the way that the Panorama team edited Donald Trump's speech.

He says that he's received communication from Trump's team, and adds that he is now considering whether to apologise personally to the president.

Asked if Trump is suing the BBC - as he has previously sued US outlets - Shah says: "I do not know that yet. But he's a litigious fellow. So we should be prepared for all outcomes."

Shah's letter continues: "I would like to assure you and the Committee that I am absolutely clear that the BBC must champion impartiality."

He says this principle is "more necessary now than ever before", and takes responsibility as chair for holding BBC content to "the highest standards".

"I will personally ensure that the BBC continues to take the necessary actions in the future to ensure the BBC retains the trust and confidence of the public we serve," Shah says.

He calls impartial, truthful, evidence-backed journalism the "sacred job of the BBC".

That is the last post we'll have on Shah's letter, and we will now be bringing you key lines from his interview with BBC News.

Next, Shah outlines the next steps he has planned:

"My intention is to sharpen and strengthen the process so that EGSC acts speedily, and monitors the actions agreed to ensure implementation.

"The plan is to broaden the agenda to include all BBC output — as all BBC programming, not just its journalism, is bound by editorial guidelines.

"I will also be changing the composition of the Committee to align better with its changed role and to ensure clearer accountability. This re-engineering of the EGSC will come before the Board in December."

The BBC chair also sets out a series of additional actions:

• "Going forward, the Board will commit to re-visiting, each and every item set out in Michael Prescott's note, and take further action where appropriate. We will be transparent about the conclusions we reach and the actions taken
• "Where we have put in measures already, in response to the original EGSC research, we will repeat those internal reviews to check the changes made are making material improvements to the output
• "Where we have already accepted that items fall short of our editorial standards, we will ensure that amendments to the relevant online stories are made where this was deemed appropriate"