BBC was 'manipulated by terrorists' over Gaza documentary narrated by son of a Hamas official, claims former chief
A former BBC chief has said the Corporation was 'manipulated by terrorists' after the production company behind a Gaza documentary admitted it had paid the family of a senior Hamas official.
Danny Cohen, the former controller of BBC1, laid criticism at the Beeb and called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to ensure an independent inquiry is held into the failings of the documentary and the 'wider systemic issues of anti-Israel bias'.
It comes after the broadcaster aired a programme called Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone which, it was later revealed, featured a 14-year-old boy named Abdullah, the son of a senior Hamas official.
The corporation revealed on Thursday night that the boy's mother was paid by Hoyo Films 'via his sister's bank account' for his involvement in the documentary which, as previously reported, could prompt a counter terror police probe.
The revelation prompted a coalition of politicians and campaigners to demand counter-terror police investigate whether licence-fee cash ended up in the bank accounts of terrorists.
The Culture Secretary organised an emergency meeting with the BBC's chair, Samir Shah, to discuss the organisation's 'serious failings' and demanded that 'no stone is left unturned' in a fact-finding review ordered by the BBC's Director General.
Now, Mr Cohen, former director of BBC Television from 2013 to 2015, has called for an inquiry as he accused the BBC of being 'manipulated by terrorists'.
He told the Times: 'Given the scale of the BBC's failings, it feels absolutely appropriate for the culture secretary to ensure this happens.
Counter terror police could launch a probe after the production company behind a BBC documentary admitted it had paid the family of a senior Hamas official.
In a statement the national broadcaster revealed that the boy's mother had been paid 'via his sister's bank account' for his involvement in the documentary
'The ultimate failing here is by the BBC's leadership. They should not be allowed to just investigate themselves … the journalistic failings of this programme are part of a wider system failure at the BBC.'
The broadcaster published an apology and documentary and admitted that 'serious flaws' had been identified 'in the making' of the programme.
A BBC spokesperson added: 'During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC, about any potential connections he and his family might have with Hamas.
'Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy's father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact.
But this has done little to allay outrage as campaigners demand 'arrests' are made if it is found the BBC paid money to terrorists.
Lord Ian Austin, a former Labour MP who now sits as an independent peer, told the Daily Mail: 'Surely those who oversaw the making of this program should be sacked for the very serious professional and moral failings.
'The Met must immediately investigate whether the BBC allowed public money to end up in the hands of terrorists.
'There must be an independent enquiry into how this documentary was made and if anyone is found responsible for paying or overseeing the payment of license-fee money to Hamas they should face the full force of the law.'
The row over the BBC's documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, spilled on to the streets of the capital on Tuesday evening as anti-Hamas protesters arrived outside Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London
The senior Hamas officials son was featured heavily in the documentary and even narrated it
Politicians and campaigners said heads must roll after the corporation admitted 'serious flaws' in the documentary's production.
Those under the spotlight include head of BBC current affairs Joanna Carr, along with commissioning editors Gian Quaglieni and Sarah Waldron, who were all directly involved in the programme.
Further up the management chain, the highly paid chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, Deborah Turness, also faces questions.
Alex Hearn, Co-Director of Labour Against Antisemitism, added: 'Counter terrorism police must now investigate what happened and if necessary arrests should be made.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'A national treasure has become a national embarrassment.
'The BBC has now admitted that licence fee funds were paid to the family of a senior Hamas official.
'It has not yet been able to rule out that further payments to Hamas were made as it continues to investigate where hundreds of thousands of pounds went.
'Clearly, those responsible must lose their jobs.
'We are among those who have reported the BBC to Counter Terrorism Policing, which is now investigating.
Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, has now asked Peter Johnston, the director for editorial complaints and reviews who carried out the investigation into Russell Brand's behaviour, to lead a fact-finding review of the episode.
A BBC spokesperson said: 'BBC News has conducted an initial review on the programme "Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone".
'Today the BBC Board was updated on that work. It has identified serious flaws in the making of this programme. Some of these were made by the production company, and some by the BBC; all of them are unacceptable. BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation's reputation. We apologise for this.
'Nothing is more important than the trust that our audiences have in our journalism. This incident has damaged that trust. While the intent of the documentary was aligned with our purpose – to tell the story of what is happening around the world, even in the most difficult and dangerous places – the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations.
'Although the programme was made by an independent production company, who were commissioned to deliver a fully compliant documentary, the BBC has ultimate editorial responsibility for this programme as broadcast.
'One of the core questions is around the family connections of the young boy who is the narrator of the film. During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC, about any potential connections he and his family might have with Hamas.
'Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy's father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact. It was then the BBC's own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.
'Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy's mother, via his sister's bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration. While Hoyo Films have assured us that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift, the BBC is seeking additional assurance around the budget of the programme and will undertake a full audit of expenditure. We are requesting the relevant financial accounts of the production company in order to do that.
'Given the BBC's own failings, the Director-General has asked for complaints on this matter to be expedited to the Executive Complaints Unit, which is separate from BBC News. Alongside this a full fact-finding review will be undertaken; the Director-General has asked Peter Johnston to lead this work.
'Peter Johnston, the Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews, is independent of BBC News and reports directly to the Director-General. He will consider all of the complaints and issues that have been raised. He will determine whether any editorial guidelines have been broken; rapidly address the complaints that have been made; and, enable the BBC to determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted in relation to shortcomings in the making of this programme. This will include issues around the use of language, translation and continuity that have also been raised with the BBC.
'We have no plans to broadcast the programme again in its current form or return it to iPlayer and will make a further assessment once the work of Peter Johnston is complete.'
Statement from the BBC Board on Monday said: 'The BBC Board met today. The subject matter of the documentary was clearly a legitimate area to explore, but nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism. While the Board appreciates that mistakes can be made, the mistakes here are significant and damaging to the BBC.
'The Board has required the Executive to report back at the earliest opportunity on the outcomes of the work the Director-General has commissioned.'
