BROMSGROVE’S current MP has publicly backed a letter to the BBC director which calls into question the publications decision not to describe the Islamist militant movement – Hamas – as a terrorist organisation.
The call is in direct response to BBC’s coverage of the events in Israel and Gaza where they have referred to Hamas members as ‘militants’ or ‘fighters’ – whilst backing a decision not to call the organisation ‘terrorists’ to maintain their objectives of impartiality.
The letter signed by seven, former and serving, Conservative members of parliament including Sajid Javid, Matt Hancock and Nadine Dorries describes BBC’s coverage of Hamas’ recent attacks in Israel as ‘falling short’ while calling on the BBC to ‘reassess its approach’.
The publicly funded media giant has defended its use of language saying they leave it up to readers to make their own decisions and always attribute the word terrorist to those who are using it, for example the UK government.
A BBC spokesperson said:”This is an approach that has been used for decades, and is in line with that of other broadcasters.
“The BBC is an editorially independent broadcaster whose job is to explain precisely what is happening ‘on the ground’ so our audiences can make their own judgement.”
John Simpson, veteran foreign correspondent at the BBC also backed the editorial decision after the publication came under fire from foreign secretary, James Cleverly and culture secretary, Lucy Frazer who also urged the broadcaster to revise its policy on the terminology.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “British politicians know perfectly well why the BBC avoids the word ‘terrorist’, and over the years plenty of them have privately agreed with it.
“Calling someone a terrorist means you’re taking sides and ceasing to treat the situation with due impartiality.
“The BBC’s job is to place the facts before its audience and let them decide what they think, honestly and without ranting.”
Many members of the public have backed the BBC’s decision, arguing the government should not be interfering with journalism and freedom of the press.
The BCC says their policy states: “We should convey to our audience the full consequences of the act by describing what happened.
“We should use words which specifically describe the perpetrator such as ‘bomber’, ‘attacker’, ‘gunman’, ‘kidnapper’, ‘insurgent’ and ‘militant’.
“We should not adopt other people’s language as our own; our responsibility is to remain objective and report in ways that enable our audiences to make their own assessments about who is doing what to whom.”
The letter refers to a section of BBC’s editorial policy, which states: “It does not require absolute neutrality on every issue or detachment from fundamental democratic principles.”
It also brands BBC’s coverage as ‘not only inaccurate’ but ‘understandably upsetting to many Israelis, British Jew, and all of us who are shocked by these latest attacks.’
The letter does however recognise the BBC’s reporting as not being ‘borne out of any support for such actions’.
Stories on Sky News and ITV News have mainly described Hamas as ‘militants’ or ‘fighters’, while other ITV News articles have referred to them as ‘terrorists’.
According to Al Jazeera, the Israel-Gaza conflict has resulted in at least 1,537 Palestinians – including 500 children and 267 women – being killed and 6,612 wounded in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. The number of people killed in Israel has reached 1,300.
The war started after Hamas entered communities in Israel, killing people and taking hostages. Since, Israel has cut off the supply of water, electricity and fuel to Gaza and has urged over 1 million people living in the region to evacuate.
Hamas has been a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK since 2001 and the political wing of the group is now also proscribed, as of 2021.
Click HERE to read the letter in full.
