BBC warns of ‘chilling effect’ of Trump lawsuit in bid to have case thrown out

Programme faced criticism for giving the impression the US president had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building in 2021 after he had lost the election to Joe Biden

The BBC has filed a motion to dismiss President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit. Picture: James Manning/PA

The BBC has warned of the “chilling effect” US president Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit would have on “robust reporting on public figures and events”.

It comes after the corporation on Monday filed a motion to dismiss Mr Trump’s $10bn (€8.7bn) defamation lawsuit over an edit of a Panorama documentary.