'A perversion of democracy!' Ex-Ukip leader slams BBC for 'deliberate attempt to undermine' Donald Trump

WATCH NOW: Nana Akua speaks to ex-Ukip leader on BBC-Trump bias row - 'deliberate attempt to undermine President Trump'

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GB NEWS

Susanna Siddell

By Susanna Siddell


Published: 08/11/2025

- 17:14

The BBC is 'clearly trying to shape public opinion', the ex-politician claimed

The former leader of Ukip has taken to GB News to slam the BBC over a misleading documentary on US President Donald Trump.

A BBC Panorama investigative documentary was found to have spliced the speech Mr Trump made on January 6 2021 to make it appear as if he told supporters to "fight like hell" on the same day as the storming of the Capitol.


'It was a deliberate attempt to undermine President Trump," Former Ukip leader Henry Bolton told GB News star Nana Akua.

He further claimed that the BBC were "deceiving their audience" and there is "absolutely no justification" for the edit.

He told the People's Channel: "I think we can all see it. This was an entirely deliberate attempt to paint President Trump in a confrontational, aggressive, almost treasonous role.

"It was a deliberate attempt to undermine President Trump. There is no question of that."

"If we were to really sort of look into it, the British public cannot trust a news outlet that is deliberately premeditated, premeditated, deceiving or attempting to deceive their audience, both here in the UK and abroad.

Admitting that there are "elements" of the broadcaster which are "good", he believes the Government must "rein the whole thing in".

BBC Building; Henry Bolton

The BBC has been slammed with plenty of criticism since the edit was exposed

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GETTY/GB NEWS

Such an action would see the reduction in funding and reduction of scope to only services that act "genuinely in the interest of the United Kingdom and the British public", he explained.

"But the BBC at the present time is clearly trying to shape British public opinion against, based on political agenda, and that has got to be absolutely unacceptable.

"It's a perversion of democracy.

"If the BBC is trying to shape the the opinion of the British public by deceiving them in this way, then they are perverting, then they're influencing the public at the ballot box.

"And that is a perversion of democracy. It's antidemocratic in every way."

Since the misleading edit was revealed, a row has broken out between the broadcaster and Donald Trump's White House with the latter claiming the edit was "100 per cent fake news".

In the programme, Mr Trump appeared to say: "We're gonna walk down to the Capitol and I'll be there with you and we fight.

"We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell you’re not gonna have a country any more.”

In the actual speech, Mr Trump said: "We’re gonna walk down, and I’ll be there with you…we're gonna walk down to the Capitol and we're gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.

Karoline LeavittKaroline Leavitt slammed the BBC after the edited footage was revealed | REUTERS

"I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

After the news of the edit first came to light, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Telegraph: "This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.

"Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their blatant propaganda and lies about the President of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."

Tax-paying Britons have been "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine", Ms Leavitt slammed.

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