A federal judge in the United States has allowed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to proceed, rejecting part of the broadcaster’s attempt to have the case dismissed.

US District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, sitting in Florida, delivered the ruling on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, partially rejecting the BBC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The legal dispute centres on a BBC Panorama documentary titled Trump: A Second Chance, which aired shortly before the 2024 US presidential election.

Trump accused the broadcaster of damaging his reputation through the misleading editing of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, shortly before his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The documentary reportedly combined two separate portions of the speech, recorded approximately 55 minutes apart, making it appear as though Trump had directly called on his supporters to engage in violent action.

The edited footage brought together his instruction to march towards the Capitol with a later statement in which he urged supporters to “fight like hell”, while omitting remarks in which he called for peaceful protests.

In his ruling, Judge Kuntz said Trump’s allegations that the documentary damaged his reputation and that the BBC knew or should have known that the edited footage was misleading were sufficiently credible to allow the defamation claim to continue.

The judge also questioned the broadcaster’s explanation that the editing was simply intended to shorten Trump’s lengthy speech.

He maintained that the considerable time difference between the statements could support an inference that the BBC knew the resulting footage did not accurately represent what Trump had said.

The court, however, did not determine whether Trump had successfully established that the broadcaster committed defamation. He would still be required to prove his allegations and demonstrate that he suffered actual damages as the case progresses.

Meanwhile, the judge dismissed Trump’s separate claim that the BBC violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, leaving the defamation allegation as the remaining claim.

Reacting to the decision, Trump described the ruling as a major victory in his legal battle against the broadcaster, celebrating it in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The BBC expressed surprise at the court’s decision but said it respected the judicial process and remained confident in its legal position.

The broadcaster had previously apologised to Trump over the editing of his speech, acknowledging that the documentary created the mistaken impression that he had made a direct call for violent action.

However, the BBC has continued to reject the allegations of defamation and insists that its apology does not amount to an admission of legal liability.

The controversy also triggered a major crisis within the broadcaster after an internal report raised concerns about editorial standards and the handling of the documentary. The matter contributed to the resignations of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and its head of news, Deborah Turness, in November 2025.

The lawsuit is part of Trump’s broader legal confrontations with media organisations over their reporting of his political activities and public statements.

In a related development, another Florida judge had earlier ordered Trump to appear for a deposition before BBC lawyers by December 11, 2026, warning that failure to comply could attract legal sanctions.

The latest ruling means the broadcaster will now have to defend itself against Trump’s defamation allegations as the legal proceedings move to the next stage.