A US judge has ordered President Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in his defamation lawsuit against a major British broadcaster by 11 December.

Trump is suing the outlet over an episode of its flagship investigative programme that edited together two different sections of a speech he gave before the riot at the US Capitol in January 2021.

US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ruled that Trump must sit for the deposition by 11 December, unless the discovery period is extended.

Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the broadcaster, said in court that "we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff" with two months left in the discovery period.

Trump cancelled a previous deposition on 16 October, citing "matters of national importance" while he was campaigning in Georgia. On that day, he attended a midterms campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

Last week, attorneys asked Judge Lett to compel Trump to face the deposition after the last scheduled meeting did not take place.

In a separate filing, Trump's lawyers said the president could appear for the interview between 11 and 22 January next year. They also claimed the broadcaster was "wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition in this action."

Trump's lawsuit, filed in Florida, accuses the outlet of "intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring" the speech he gave outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021.

The broadcaster apologised for the error and acknowledged that the programme gave "the mistaken impression that President Trump made a direct call for violent action."

The outlet has since asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the programme does not meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not available in the United States.

In July, Trump's lawyers conceded they had no evidence that the documentary was available in the US on the broadcaster's BritBox subscription service, as they had originally claimed, or on its website, its select service, or through US broadcasters.

Trump ultimately agreed to drop the lawsuit against the broadcaster's commercial arm after it argued it had "no role in creating or producing the documentary."

In US law, a deposition is an out-of-court statement made under oath in response to questions, recorded for use in later proceedings. Depositions typically take place in a lawyer's office rather than a courtroom, without a judge physically present.

They carry legal weight and are recorded verbatim by a court reporter. The transcripts can later be used as evidence during trials.