Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1bn over Panorama edit scandal: Live

BBC chairman Samir Shah says it wasn’t fair that director-general Tim Davie had to quit over the Panorama row.

He told BBC News Mr Davie had had a very, very difficult job. “The BBC is a huge, massive enterprise, and asks a lot of the director-general in terms of just his physical resilience and also emotional, and I do think it’s a characteristic, I would say, that we really do enjoy beating people up,” he said.

“And you’ve got to remember that these people are human, they have families, they have emotions, and you can’t consistently do that just because you want to give somebody a kicking, it’s not fair.

“It wasn’t fair on Tim. I’ve got to know Tim very well over the last 15 months, and I have huge admiration for what he’s done, and it’s an admiration shared by the board.”

The BBC “defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the presidential election”, a spokesman for the president’s outside legal team told NBC News.

But former head of news Deborah Turness denied this, saying: “Of course our journalists aren’t corrupt. Our journalists are hardworking people who strive for impartiality.”

She said “the buck stops with me. But I’d like to make one thing very clear: BBC News is not institutionally biased.”

BBC chairman Samir Shah has said he “did not want to lose” former director-general Tim Davie, who quit on Sunday.

Mr Shah, 73, told BBC News: “I did not want to lose Tim Davie. I think Tim Davie has been an outstanding director-general, and may I say, nor did any member of the board.

“We were upset by the decision, I do understand it at a very human level, Tim has gone through a lot of attacks, it’s been relentless.”

Donald Trump has reportedly threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn (£760m).

His lawyers are demanding a retraction by this Friday.

In a letter from the US president’s lawyers to the BBC and seen by NBC News, the US president set the BBC a deadline of 5pm EST (10pm in the UK) Friday to “comply”, Sky News reports.

The letter says that if the corporation does not: “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.”

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told NBC: “The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”

A BBC spokesperson told NBC News: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”

Reform leader Nigel Farage said he spoke to Donald Trump on Friday, adding: “He just said to me: ‘Is this how you treat your best ally?’

“It’s quite a powerful comment.”