Managing Partner Daniel Astaire has provided comment across the national press on Trump’s potential lawsuit against the BBC, assessing the strength of his case and whether he could bring proceedings in the UK.

Commenting on the legalities of Trump’s threat, Daniel noted: “Doctoring a video can certainly give rise to claims for defamation and infringement of a person’s moral rights under Copyright legislation – however, an English Court would clearly not be awarding $1bn in damages even if liability was established.”

Outlining the legal hurdles Trump would face if he decided to proceed with the claim, Daniel said: “Trump must show that the video caused ‘serious harm’ to his reputation and then quantify this damage. The key factor is whether the reasonable viewer would believe the video to be true and not realise it has been falsified – the meaning of the statement, as conveyed by the video, will be crucial in determining whether it is defamatory.”

Daniel concluded: “The creation of a doctored video could pave the way for malicious falsehood, if the video contains false statements that result in quantifiable financial loss. If Trump pursues this, he must establish that the creation of the video was done maliciously.”

Daniel’s comments were published in Sky News, City AM, The Standard, and The i Paper, 11 November 2025.