Donald Trump ordered by judge to sit for deposition in his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC

A federal judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC by early December.

Mr Trump is seeking damages over the editing of a Panorama documentary concerning the US Capitol riots, which aired in 2024.

Lawyers for both sides appeared in a hearing before US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett in Miami on Thursday to address when Mr Trump will be available for deposition.

Last week, the BBC asked the judge to order Mr Trump to appear after he cancelled an agreed date of 16 October, citing "matters of national importance".

The corporation argues the president is attempting to delay his appearance until January next year.

Judge Lett said Mr Trump must sit for a deposition by 11 December, or face sanctions up to dismissal of his lawsuit - unless the discovery period was extended past 18 December.

Trump: A Second Chance? was broadcast by the BBC days before the 2024 US presidential election.

The programme spliced together two sections of the president's speech into what appeared to be one quote.

Mr Trump's lawyers say the programme falsely portrayed the president as a "violent insurrectionist", caused "massive economic damage to his brand value" and was a "brazen attempt" to interfere in the US election.

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The BBC acknowledged that filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of the speech Mr Trump delivered to his supporters on 6 January, 2021, before the storming of the US Capitol, to make it seem he was directly calling for violence.

The broadcaster apologised over the editing, and the head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned. But the BBC has denied Mr Trump's claims that it defamed him.

The Panorama programme was not broadcast in the US, but the lawsuit says it could be watched on the BritBox subscription streaming platform and also claims "millions of Florida citizens use a virtual private network (VPN) to view content such as the Panorama documentary".

It further alleges a Canadian third-party media group called Blue Ant Media Corporation had licensing rights to the documentary outside the UK and distributed the programme "in North America, including Florida".

Mr Trump, who has often avoided depositions, filed his lawsuit against the BBC last December.

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