BBC ‘made an error’ in failing to refer to Hamas as terrorists, says Culture Secretary
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The BBC “made an error” by failing to refer to Hamas as terrorists in its coverage of the Gaza conflict, the Culture Secretary has said.
Lucy Frazer said she had raised the issue in a private board meeting with the public service broadcaster amid criticism of its reporting.
Speaking in front of MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Ms Frazer said: “We discussed very clearly the position that the BBC did not refer to Hamas as terrorists. It was a matter I had publicly called the BBC out on, I think the previous week in a newspaper article.
“I put points to the BBC in a private meeting about something I had already said publicly about the reasons why I thought their guidance allowed them to refer to Hamas as terrorists.”
Asked if it was appropriate to put pressure on the BBC over the use of language in its reporting, the Culture Secretary said: “I think the BBC made an error, which I’ve been very public about, in its refusing to recognise the use of the term ‘terrorists’.”
Ms Frazer added that she had asked her officials whether it was appropriate to raise the issue at the meeting and informed the BBC of her intention to do so.
The BBC has drawn criticism from Rishi Sunak and Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, over its refusal to label Hamas as terrorists.
The broadcaster instead opts for the term “militants” and only uses the word “terrorists” when quoting other people, such as the Government.
John Simpson, the BBC’s world affairs editor, has previously defended the policy, saying: “It’s simply not the BBC’s job to tell people who to support and who to condemn – who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.”
However, new chairman Samir Shah has said he will review the broadcaster’s editorial guidelines, adding that it needs to “consider very clearly” its refusal to use the term terrorist.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has sparked a flurry of scrutiny of the BBC’s coverage amid concerns about impartiality.
In March, bosses said the corporation had received more than 8,000 complaints about bias in its reporting of the war.
However, they insisted the complaints were split roughly evenly between those accusing the BBC of bias in favour of Israel and those alleging bias against it.
Ms Frazer, who has previously accused the BBC of bias, said the broadcaster needed to address impartiality “as a whole within its organisation”.
She pointed to the findings of recent reviews of migration and economics coverage, which found no consistent bias but highlighted shortcomings that posed a threat to impartiality.
Ms Frazer said: “I do think that the BBC has more work to do on impartiality and I think the BBC absolutely accepts that.”
A BBC spokesman said: “No one consuming BBC News can be left unaware of the horrific nature of Hamas’s acts.
“We’ve made our longstanding position on this matter very clear – we use the word terrorist when it is attributed to others, such as [by] the UK Government.”
