The BBC $10 billion lawsuit brought by US president Donald Trump will go to trial in February 2027, a Florida judge has ordered.
It comes after an episode of BBC Panorama sparked a crisis at the broadcaster.
The programme, which was broadcast just a week before the 2024 US election results, is accused of misleading viewers by editing a speech Mr Trump delivered on 6 January 2021.
It spliced two distinct clips, creating the impression that Mr Trump instructed the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
President Trump’s lawyers argue the depiction of him given in the edit “was false and defamatory,” and claimed the corporation had “intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers around the world”.
In December, the BBC issued a statement confirming it plans to fight the legal action and said: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
Court documents from the US District Court Southern District of Florida show judge Roy K Altman set a trial date of February 15 next year.
The order, made on February 11, said: “This matter is set for trial during the Court’s two-week trial calendar beginning February 15, 2027. Counsel for all parties shall also appear at a calendar call at 1:45 p.m. on February 9, 2027.
“Unless instructed otherwise by subsequent order, the trial and all other proceedings in this case shall be conducted in Courtroom 12-4 at the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 400 N. Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida 33128.”
Mr Trump is seeking up to 10 billion dollars (£7.5 billion) in damages in response to the editing of his speech, with his lawyers claiming it was “false and defamatory”.
The threat of legal action followed the leak of a document written by Michael Prescott, the former independent external adviser to the BBC’s editorial guidelines and standards committee, which made accusations of several instances of bias, including the doctored Panorama episode.
BBC chair Samir Shah apologised for an “error of judgement”, but said there was no basis for a defamation case.
The BBC filed a motion to dismiss, claiming the Florida court lacks “personal jurisdiction” over the corporation, the court venue is “improper” and that Mr Trump has “failed to state a claim”, according to court documents.
The corporation argued that it did not create, produce or broadcast the documentary in Florida and that Mr Trump’s claim that the documentary was available in the US on streaming service BritBox is not true.
A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case.
“We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
Mr Trump has a history of suing news organisations in the US and is engaged in legal action with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
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