Trump has ‘obligation’ to sue ‘very dishonest’ BBC
Donald Trump has said he has an “obligation” to sue the BBC over an edit of a speech he gave before the US Capitol riot in 2021.
The president doubled down on his legal threat to the corporation in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night, as the corporation remains in crisis after the resignation of two of its top figures – including director-general Tim Davie.
“They defrauded the public, and they’ve admitted it,” Mr Trump said.
“And this is within one of our great allies, you know?”
It came after concerns emerged about a Panorama documentary from last year which showed Mr Trump appearing to tell supporters he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to “fight like hell”. There was in fact around an hour in between the two parts of the speech that were spliced together.
He told Fox News the Panorama edit had made a “beautiful” and “very calming speech” sound “radical”, which was “incredible” and “very dishonest”.
Mr Trump had faced charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election in light of the violence that befell the Capitol in January 2021, but those efforts were dropped when he beat Kamala Harris in 2024.
Trump’s three demands
Mr Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1bn unless it issues a “full and fair retraction” of the documentary, apologises immediately, and “appropriately” compensates him. It’s been given a deadline of 10pm UK time on Friday.
Read Trump’s legal letter in full
The BBC has come under increasingly heavy fire from its critics in the UK over the Panorama programme. The Conservatives have demanded it apologise to Mr Trump and the public, while Reform has reportedly pulled out of a documentary the corporation was planning about the party.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the BBC in the Commons on Tuesday, denying accusations it’s institutionally biased and calling on MPs to “value it, uphold it, and fiercely defend it”.
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Nandy’s BBC warning to MPs
She said she has been in “regular contact” with BBC chair Samir Shah, ensuring that where standards were not met, “firm, swift and transparent action follows”.
Ms Nandy said a review of the BBC’s Royal Charter will begin “imminently” and a public consultation will be launched, with more details in the “coming weeks”.
‘We made a mistake – but need to fight,’ says outgoing BBC boss
Her Commons statement came after outgoing director-general Mr Davie said the corporation “made some mistakes that have cost us”, but added he was “proud” and that the organisation needed to “fight” for its journalism.
Mr Davie told staff on a call: “I think we did make a mistake, and there was an editorial breach, and I think some responsibility had to be taken.”
Mr Davie, who has worked for the BBC for 20 years and been in charge for the past five, is not stepping down immediately but hopes a successor will be put in place “over the coming months”.
There are several potential candidates who could replace him. The job effectively serves as both the corporation’s chief executive and its editor-in-chief across television, radio and online.
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Inside the BBC staff call
Leak reveals staff anger at Tory-linked board member
In a Q&A with Mr Davie after the all-staff call, staff were frustrated by having their questions vetted, Sky News arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer reported.
Some questions were about the controversial appointment of Sir Robbie Gibb, the former Tory director of communications for prime minister Theresa May, to the BBC board. But when these questions were getting through the vetting process, staff tried to ask questions in the reply boxes, which were public.
Read more:
The man behind the leaked BBC memo
Who is Sir Robbie Gibb and why are there calls to get him off BBC board?
Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s then director of communications, leaves No 10 in 2019. Pic: James Veysey/Shutterstock
File type: JPG
The anonymous comments included questions like “How can we claim to be unbiased if Gibb is on the board?” and “Why is Robbie Gibb still on the board?”.
“I find Robbie Gibb’s continued presence at the BBC to be incredibly demoralising. It feels as if he is fighting against and undermining the work we’re trying to do,” another comment read.
The leaders of the Lib Dems and SNP have both called for Sir Robbie’s removal.
But Ms Nandy told the Commons the government is “unable” to remove Sir Robbie, as “the charter sets a strict legal threshold that must be met before dismissal of a board member”.
Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.
The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.
Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.
It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.
The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP
The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.
Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.
Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.
Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.
“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.
“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”
Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.
The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.
“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third were The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
Read more from Sky News:
Sabrina Carpenter fury at video
Drake’s lawsuit dismissed
Spotify hikes UK prices
Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
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