The clock is ticking. The BBC has just a few days to decide whether to take on perhaps the biggest gamble of its 100-year history.
It’s the stuff worthy of a TV drama - the most bombastic US President ever threatening to bring down a (once) great British institution unless they cough up a billion dollars.
The only problem? It’s the Beeb itself starring in its own TV must-watch. And the consequences could be devastating.
Settle out of court with President Trump for the Panorama scandal - or take a £760million punt fighting him in front of a judge.
Sources close to the Trump legal team have told GB News that the US President would probably accept around $15million (£11million) as an apology for the row that’s rocked the corporation. The Beeb has until Friday to make such an offer.
So far, the BBC's legal counsel has yet to even acknowledge Trump's legal letter, which was fired across the Atlantic on Sunday evening.
Word on the grapevine suggests they are mulling their options in the belief they think the president doesn't have a leg to stand on.
|GB News can reveal BBC legal eagles believe President Trump wasn’t meaningfully damaged by Panorama’s editing of his January 6 speech.
Yes, they made a mistake. But his reputation, they argue, had already been damaged by the events of that fateful day. And remember, any defamation case worth pursuing would have to prove that a victim’s reputation was damaged in the eyes of the public.
Declining to settle and opting to fight in court would prove one of the boldest and bravest decisions in the BBC’s 103-year history.
The BBC has 72 hours to decide whether to take on the biggest gamble in its 100-year history - Ben Leo
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