BBC boss says Gaza ‘most challenging editorial issue I’ve dealt with’
Tim Davie also praised thousands of journalists at the corporation 'for delivering such brave impartial journalism'
BBC director-general Tim Davie has admitted coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza has been “the most challenging editorial issue I have had to deal with.”
But speaking as the BBC unveiled its annual report on Tuesday he praised the thousands of journalists at the corporation “for delivering such brave impartial journalism”.
The 58-year-old was speaking just one day after a report found the BBC had breached editorial guidelines on accuracy for not disclosing that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official during the broadcast of a documentary on Gaza.
Davie also resisted calls for his resignation saying he felt he was “in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way”.
Asked about the BBC’s coverage of Gaza, and the findings of an independent investigation into the screening Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone documentary he said: “Gaza has been the most challenging editorial issue I have had to deal with but the importance of fair, balanced reporting, the need for high-quality homegrown programming in the face of massive pressure, I think has never been even greater.”
A review, published on Monday, found the screened of the doc had breached the corporation’s editorial guidelines on accuracy – saying the broadcaster is taking “immediate steps” to prevent another Gaza “mistake” from happening again.
The programme was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
“There was a breach of our editorial guidelines, there was no breach on impartiality and no evidence of any outside interest impact on the programme but there was a breach of accuracy, and that is not acceptable,” said Davie.
“So we are taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated.
“Despite this mistake I do want to credit thousands of people across the BBC for delivering such brave impartial journalism despite immense challenges and very significant personal pressure.
“Personally I remain utterly committed to delivering impartial coverage without fear or favour. It is needed now more than ever in this polarising world.”
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