'Is this how you treat your best ally?!' Donald Trump fumes in 'powerful' private phone call to Nigel Farage over BBC scandal

Concerns about a left-wing bias at the BBC prompted the double resignation of the broadcaster's director-general Tim Davie and chief executive Deborah Turness.

However, Mr Farage has since confirmed he spoke to his longtime friend about the scandal on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference earlier today, the Reform UK leader said: "I actually spoke to the President on Friday he just said to me is this how you treat your best ally.

"Quite a powerful comment, isn't it? There has been too much going for too long.

"You might have noticed last year half a million people stopped paying the licence fee, the year before half a million people stopped paying the licence fee.

"If the BBC doesn’t now get a grip, get somebody in from the outside, somebody who has got a history and a culture of changing organisations of turning them around, then I think what you will see in the next couple of years are many, many millions just refusing, just not wanting to have the licence fee."

The Reform UK leader, who said the BBC had been "institutionally biased for decades", added that the licence fee as it currently is "cannot survive".

Mr Farage said: "I think the BBC is important. I think BBC World Service is actually very, very important and I think the BBC should get back to doing news, but just to doing straight news.

"If it can manage that, it has something of a future. If it can’t manage that, frankly, it has no future at all."

Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is now somewhat of a foe of Mr Farage, even vowed to stop paying the £174.50 until BBC bosses own up splicing parts of Mr Trump's speech together.

Broadcasting House now has until Friday to meet Mr Trump's demands after the US President sent a legal letter threatening to sue the BBC for an eyewatering $1billion.

In a letter to the broadcaster, Mr Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, set out a number of demands following allegations it had edited a speech by the President in an episode of Panorama broadcast the week before last year's US election.

The letter, seen by GB News, demands "a full and fair retraction" of the documentary and "any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published", as well as an apology and compensation.

It concludes that if the BBC does not comply by 5pm EST on November 14, MrTrump "will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1billion [around £759,750,000] in damages".

Trust in the BBC has fallen drastically in recent years, dipping from a net positive rating of six per cent in 2020 to a net negative score of -4 per cent in 2023.

Brexiteers have bemoaned the broadcaster's coverage, particularly when it comes to the weekly current affairs show Question Time.

Reform UK's policy chief Zia Yusuf last month accused the BBC of not picking an audience that reflects the views of the British public.

However, Question Time host Fiona Bruce has continuously insisted the audience is representative of the national mood.

While the BBC continues to face political fury, Sir Keir Starmer has defended Broadcasting House as being neither corrupt nor institutionally biased.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "On the question of is the BBC corrupt? No.

"The BBC has a vital role in an age of disinformation… where there's a clear argument for a robust, impartial British news service to deliver, and that case is stronger than ever.

"I think I've already addressed some of the comments that have been made over the last 24 hours, but we are of the view that it's important that the BBC acts swiftly to maintain trust and correct mistakes quickly when they occur."