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BBC license fee money to be sent “to Mar-a-Lago” There’s no “smart” thing to do, The shadow home secretary said this after Donald Trump threatened to sue the corporation for up to $5 billion.
Chris Phillips said he believes The President is the “wrong party” in his fight with the BBC, But he did not think it would be a good idea to use the license fee money to settle the case.
Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One over the weekend that he would sue the corporation “Probably somewhere between $1 billion and $5 billion sometime next week.”,
His comments came after an apology from the BBC on Thursday, in which it said panorama The editing of Mr Trump’s Capitol speech on January 6, 2021 “gave the false impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”.
The broadcaster apologized and said that singling out the speech was an “error of judgment”, but the US President’s lawyers threatened to sue for $1 billion in damages unless the retraction and apology were published, after which he refused to pay financial compensation.
Asked whether license fee payers’ money should be given to the White House, Mr Philip told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “No, I don’t think so.
“So look, we all work hard and pay our license fees. I don’t think it would be a wise thing to send some of it to Mar-a-Lago.” The historic Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida is owned by Mr Trump.
He had previously described Mr Trump as the “wrong party” in the controversy, and said “we expect a much higher standard than that from our national broadcaster”.
This comes after the US President indicated that he would talk to Sir keir starmer About this matter over the weekend.
home Secretary Shabana Mehmood He declined to comment on the conversation between the Prime Minister and the President, but told the same BBC program that the government supports the corporation.
He urged the broadcaster to “get its house in order” and added: “But we are supporting the BBC and we believe it has an important role in our national life, and stands up for impartial news in a more competitive world.”
BBC said this on Saturday that it has not had any further contact yet From Mr. Trump’s lawyers.
A spokesperson said: “We have had no contact with President Trump’s lawyers at this time. Our position remains the same.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey suggested that license fee payers would be “shocked that Donald Trump is coming to pick their pockets”.
Mr Trump has a history of suing news organizations in the US, and he settled a legal dispute with her over an interview that aired on CBS News. 60 minutes Program with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
panorama The scandal led to the resignations of two of the BBC’s most senior executives: Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Ternes.
The programme, broadcast a week before the 2024 US election results, featured two clips stitched together to show Mr Trump telling the crowd: “We’re walking to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC has said it will not broadcast it panorama The episode “Trump: A Second Chance?” again, and published a retraction on the show’s webpage on Thursday.