Reith lecturer accuses BBC of cowardice for censoring his remarks on Trump

Tue, 25 Nov 2025

Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removed

The BBC has been accused of cowardice by a writer it selected to give its flagship annual lecture, after it removed his remarks about alleged corruption by Donald Trump.

With the corporation already threatened with a multibillion-dollar lawsuit by the US president, Rutger Bregman, a Dutch author and historian, said the BBC had removed a “key line” from his address when it was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.