What to know about the BBC's latest crisis after its apology to Trump

LONDON (AP) — The BBC has issued a public apology to President Donald Trump over a misleading edit of his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, but said it “strongly disagreed there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

Since it was established more than a century ago, Britain's public broadcaster has been no stranger to controversy. Over the past week, it has been embroiled in a major crisis as its director general stepped down, its head of news quit, questions were raised over the veracity of its journalism and Trump says he's poised to file a billion-dollar lawsuit.

“We'll sue them for anywhere between a billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week,” Trump said as he flew aboard Air Force One to Florida for the weekend.

Here's what to know.

Pressure on the broadcaster has been growing since the right-leaning Daily Telegraph newspaper published parts of a dossier compiled by the BBC's adviser on standards and guidelines on Nov. 3.

As well as criticizing the BBC’s coverage of transgender issues and raising concerns of anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic service, the dossier said that an edition of the BBC’s flagship current affairs series, “Panorama” — titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — broadcast days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election was misleading.

Specifically, it showed how the third-party production company that made the film spliced together three quotes from two sections of the Jan. 6, 2021, speech into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.”

By doing so, it made it look like Trump was giving the green light to his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.

The outcry from opponents of the BBC — and there are many both in the U.K. and abroad — was immediate and vociferous.

The broadcaster, which is funded by an annual license fee of 174.50 pounds ($230) paid by all U.K. households who watch live TV or any BBC content, was accused of bias against Trump, symptomatic of they say an inherent liberal bias within the organization.

For days, the BBC said very little, saying it did not report to leaked reports. Many thought that was a misjudgement as it allowed the narrative around the edit to be led by its opponents.

By Nov. 9, the pressure on the BBC was becoming increasingly acute, prompting its top executive, Tim Davie, and head of news Deborah Turness to resign over what the broadcaster called an “error of judgment.”

It was also revealed that Trump was demanding a retraction, apology and compensation over the sequence — but that hasn't stopped him from planning to sue. “I think they defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it,” Trump said this past week.

Trump had set a deadline of Friday for the BBC to respond to his challenge.

While the BBC said earlier in the week that the edited portion of the program was an “error of judgement,” it did not apologize to Trump directly until Thursday evening.

In a statement, it said its chair, Samir Shah, had personally sent a letter to the White House saying that he and the corporation were sorry for the edit of the speech.

While the BBC statement doesn’t respond to Trump’s demand that he be compensated for “overwhelming financial and reputational harm,” the headline on its news story about the apology said it refused to pay compensation.

In addition to insisting that the apology won't stop a lawsuit, Trump said Friday night that he planned to speak to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer soon, noting: ”He actually put a call into me. He’s very embarrassed.”

“The UK is very, very embarrassed by BBC, what they did,” Trump said.

Legal experts have stated that Trump would likely face challenges in taking the case to court in the U.K. or the U.S. They argue that the BBC could demonstrate that Trump wasn’t harmed, as he was ultimately elected president in 2024.

While many legal experts have dismissed the president’s claims against the media as having little merit, he has won some lucrative settlements against U.S. media companies and he could try to leverage the BBC mistake for a payout, potentially to a charity of his choice.

However, this latest crisis pans out in the days and weeks ahead, the heat will remain on the BBC, especially in its newsrooms where any mistake, or seeming bias, will no doubt be picked up by opponents.

As a public broadcaster, the BBC must be impartial in its coverage of news events. It's a fine balancing act that often gets the BBC into trouble. Some think it leans too much to the right, while others think it goes the other way. Whatever the truth of the matter, many think that the BBC is often cowed in its coverage, particularly on domestic political matters.

Not only does it need to find a new director-general and head of news, it has to negotiate its future with the government.

The left-of-center Labour government, which is considered to be one of the most pro-BBC political parties in the U.K., will soon start the once-a-decade process of reviewing the BBC’s governing charter, which expires at the end of 2027.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government would ensure the BBC is “sustainably funded (and) commands the public’s trust,” but did not say whether the license fee might be scaled back or scrapped.

Pedestrians are reflected as they walk outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Outgoing BBC Director-General Tim Davie outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, Tuesday Nov. 11, 2025. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

Pedestrian walks outside the BBC Headquarters in London, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A view of the logo outside the BBC Headquarters in London, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A second flight carrying Iranians deported from the United States has left America, Iranian officials said, as Washington reportedly planned to send hundreds of prisoners back to the Islamic Republic.

The deportations come as tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S. after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites during Tehran's 12-day war with Israel in June. Activists abroad also have expressed concern about deportees returning to Iran, whose theocracy has been cracking down on intellectuals and executing prisoners at a rate unseen in decades.

A report published Monday by the Mizan news agency, the official mouthpiece of the Iran's judiciary, quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mojtaba Shasti Karimi acknowledging the deportation of 55 Iranians.

“These individuals announced their willingness for return following continuation of anti-immigration and discriminative policy against foreign nationals particularly Iranians by the United States,” Karimi reportedly said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also said Sunday there were plans for 55 Iranians to return to the Islamic Republic.

Based on the U.S. claims, “the Iranians were repatriated because of legal reasons and breach of immigration regulations," Baghaei said.

The U.S. government did not immediately acknowledge the deportation flight and it wasn't clear whether the plane had arrived yet in Tehran. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press early Monday.

The deportations represent a collision of a top priority of President Donald Trump — targeting illegal immigration — against a decades-long practice by the U.S. of welcoming Iranian dissidents, exiles and others since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In September, Iranian officials acknowledged as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under the Trump administration policy. That month, the first such flight arrived in Tehran.

In the lead up to and after the 1979 revolution, a large number of Iranians fled to the U.S. In the decades since, the U.S. had been sensitive in allowing those fleeing from Iran over religious, sexual or political persecution to seek residency. Iran has maintained only those facing criminal charges face prosecution, while others can travel freely. However, Tehran has detained Westerns and others with ties abroad in the past to be exchanged in prisoner swaps.

Iran has criticized Washington for hosting dissidents and others in the past. U.S. federal prosecutors have accused Iran of hiring hitmen to target dissidents as well in America.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Cars drive in an afternoon traffic jam in a high air pollution in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)