Sky News' regular broadcast was halted for a breaking update about the BBC after US President Donald Trump threatened legal action.

15:28, Mon, Nov 17, 2025 Updated: 15:28, Mon, Nov 17, 2025

President Trump has recieved a response from the BBC

President Trump has recieved a response from the BBC (Image: Getty)

Sky News reporter Katie Spencer brought regular broadcasting to a halt this afternoon to inform viewers that the BBC's chairman, Samir Shah, has stated the broadcaster is "determined to fight" any legal action by Donald Trump. She began: "As one of the last senior leadership figures, I think somebody really needed to address what happened over the weekend, and Donald Trump effectively upped the ante.

"On Thursday, the BBC said it sent its response to the original legal threat, saying they had apologised to President Trump for the splicing of his speech on that Panorama episode, which has proven to be so controversial now. They've apologised, but they said they believe he had no basis for any legal challenge."

BBC Director General Tim Davie in London

BBC Director General Tim Davie quit in recent days (Image: Getty)

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Over the weekend, Trump went on record to say he will continue to try to sue the BBC for anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion "probably sometime next week". 

Following the US leader's latest remarks, Spencer said Shah has sent out an email to all of his staff this afternoon (Monday, November 17), which was shown to Sky viewers.

It read: "There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements. In all this, we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our licence fee payers, the British public."

The BBC chair also wrote: "I want to be very clear with you - our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case, and we are determined to fight this."

However, the BBC issued an apology to Trump for the edit of his speech on January 6, 2021, which the corporation admitted was an "error of judgment" and had given the "mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action". 

However, they refused to pay financial compensation after the President's lawyers threatened to sue for $1 billion in damages unless a retraction and apology were published.

The BBC's Director General, Tim Davie, and the BBC's Head of News, Deborah Turness, resigned following the Panorama scandal. Their replacement are yet to be unveiled by the BBC.