BBC Boss Grilled by Conservative MPs Over Israel-Hamas Coverage as Broadcaster Defends ‘Commitment to Impartiality’
variety.comEllise Shafer BBC director general Tim Davie was grilled over the corporation’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war during a meeting on Wednesday night with the 1922 Committee of Conservative Members of Parliament, particularly over the broadcaster’s policy not to call Hamas “terrorists.” Since Hamas’ Oct.
7 attack on Israel, the BBC has received backlash from the public and government alike for its refusal to use the term, despite Hamas having been deemed a terrorist organization by the U.K.
According to The Telegraph, Davie was confronted during the meeting — which the BBC said was part of his regular check-ins with the U.K.’s political parties — by Minister of Immigration Robert Jenrick, who said he’d “never been so disappointed,” adding: “I worry that the organization has lost the confidence of many people and in particular the British Jewish community.
That loss of confidence began with the BBC’s refusal to call Hamas terrorists. Will you reconsider that and change your editorial policy?” In response, Davie stuck by the BBC’s policy, pointing to the fact that when referring to Hamas the corporation often mentions that it has been deemed a terrorist organization by the U.K.
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