British premier urged to tell Trump to drop legal case against BBC
Starmer says he believes in 'independent' BBC as lawmaker claims broadcaster 'under attack' from a foreign government
LONDON
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believes in a “strong and independent BBC” following calls from Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey to take a tougher stance over US President Donald Trump’s threats of legal action against the broadcaster.
During the Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Davey accused Trump of trying to “undermine press freedom,” claiming the BBC was “under attack” from a foreign government and that the US president was being “egged on by the leader of Reform UK.”
He asked Keir if he would tell Trump to drop his legal threats against the BBC and if he could promise that license fee payers would not bear the cost of any legal defense.
Starmer responded: "Let me be clear, I believe in a strong and independent BBC. Some would rather the BBC did not exist. Some of them are sitting up there. I am not one of them. In an age of disinformation, the argument for an impartial British news service is stronger than ever.
"Where mistakes are made, they do need to get their house in order, and the BBC must uphold the highest standard to be accountable and correct errors quickly. But I will always stand up for a strong, independent BBC."
Davey accused the previous Conservative government of “undermining the BBC’s independence” and claimed it had appointed two Conservative “cronies” to the BBC board.
He said one of them, Robbie Gibb, had been “repeatedly accused of interfering in editorial decisions,” adding that “Gibb should have no role in choosing the next BBC Director General.” He asked: “Will the prime minister sack him now?”
Starmer said he agreed that the last government had undermined the BBC’s work but added: “I am a strong supporter of the BBC in the terms I have already set out.”
He did not answer the question on Gibb.
The exchange came after BBC Director General Tim Davie resigned on Sunday following criticism over the editing of a speech by Trump before the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump has since reiterated his threat to launch a $1 billion legal action against the BBC. Speaking in an interview with Fox News, he said: "I think I have an obligation to do it, you can’t allow people to do that.I guess I have to. They defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it. This is within one of our great allies, supposedly our great ally."
