LONDON: The BBC has censured one of its news presenters for referring to Hamas as a “terror group” as the UK public broadcaster faces mounting scrutiny over its coverage of the Gaza war and pressure from officials to adopt the label.
The broadcaster’s Executive Complaints Unit said on Thursday that the use of “terror group” in reference to Hamas in a June 15 news broadcast was a “breach of the BBC’s editorial standards.”
It added: “The finding was reported to the management of BBC News and discussed with the editorial team responsible.”
The BBC has resisted pressure from British and Israeli officials to label Hamas as terrorists in its news coverage. The ECU said on Thursday that, for “reasons connected with due accuracy and impartiality,” the BBC avoids directly labeling Hamas as a terrorist group, instead using the term only with attribution or when in a quote. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the UK, US and EU.
The BBC has faced accusations of bias from both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups for its coverage of the war in Gaza.
Earlier in February, the BBC cancelled the scheduled broadcast of a documentary about Gaza’s children after discovering its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The move, which was made following pressure from the UK government and pro-Israeli lobby groups, attracted widespread criticism from pro-Palestinian groups and activists.
In June, the corporation decided not to broadcast a documentary about doctors working in Gaza due to “impartiality concerns.”
