Michael Savage
The Guardian / March 4, 2025
Samir Shah tells MPs ‘people weren’t doing their job’ in relation to the film Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone
Failings in the making of a documentary on Gaza are a “dagger to the heart” of the BBC’s claims of trustworthiness and impartiality, the corporation’s chair has said, as he indicated that figures inside the corporation had fallen short in their handling of the film.
Samir Shah said he believed “people weren’t doing their job” in relation to the oversight of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The programme was pulled from iPlayer and an internal investigation launched after it emerged that the 13-year-old who narrated the film, Abdullah al-Yazouri, was the son of the deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas government.
Speaking before MPs alongside the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, Shah described his shock at the failings that have already emerged, which he said were made both by the independent production company and figures involved in the project at the BBC.
“This is a really, really bad moment,” he said. “What has been revealed is a dagger to the heart of the BBC’s claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy, which is why I and the board are determined to ask the questions.
“The processes, the editorial guidelines and the standards the BBC has are very good. They’re very strong. I have a worry that it wasn’t so much the processes were at fault, as people weren’t doing their job. That’s what we need to really establish.”
Davie acknowledged there had been a “serious failing” in the documentary, but said that the BBC remained highly trusted overall. He also piled pressure on Hoyo Films, the independent production company that made the documentary, by saying BBC figures “were not told” about the boy’s possible family links to Hamas.
The BBC has already said it has been told by Hoyo that it paid the boy’s mother via his sister’s bank account. It described it as a limited sum. The payment is being examined part of a “deep dive” investigation now taking place into the programme.
There is anger within the BBC over the failure and an expectation that there will have to be consequences. There is pressure on Joanna Carr, the head of current affairs, who had editorial responsibility for the programme and is said to have watched it before it was broadcast on 17 February. However, there are also questions being asked of the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness, an even more senior figure in the corporation.
Davie was also confronted about a letter signed by figures including Gary Lineker, Ruth Negga, Juliet Stevenson and Miriam Margolyes – and now said to have about 1,000 signatories overall – calling for the BBC to reinstate the documentary, describing it as an “essential piece of journalism”.
Davie said that after failures in transparency had been revealed, he simply “lost trust” in the production of the film and personally ordered it to be pulled from the BBC’s services.
“It was a very difficult decision,” he said. “What I did – and it was a very tough decision – was to say, at the moment, looking people in the eye, can we trust this film in terms of how it was made, the information we’ve got? And that’s where we made the decision. It’s a simple decision in that regard.”
The BBC investigation is being fast-tracked and carried out by its primary troubleshooter, the director of editorial complaints and reviews, Peter Johnston. He is tasked with looking at whether editorial guidelines were broken in the production process and ultimately whether anyone should be disciplined. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.
Hoyo Films has said it is “cooperating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston to help understand where mistakes have been made. We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.”
Shah also revealed that the disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards had not handed back more than £200,000 in salary which he earned after being arrested for accessing indecent images of children. He was given a six-month suspended prison sentence in September. “It’s not right,” said Shah. “He’s taking licence fee-payers money. And he knew what he’d done and he should return it now.”
The two BBC figures also used their appearance before the culture select committee to float a series of major changes to the corporation and its funding. Shah raised the prospect of it supporting the decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee in return for the government taking on the costs of the BBC World Service and free TV licences for some over-75s.
Both men said that making the licence fee more progressive, which could mean the wealthy would pay more, was another option that should be explored.
Michael Savage is The Guardian’s media editor
_______
Culture secretary to hold urgent meeting with BBC chair over Gaza film
Harriet Sherwood
The Guardian / February 28, 2025
Lisa Nandy to seek assurances about review into making of documentary after corporation admits ‘serious flaws’
The culture secretary is to hold an urgent meeting on Friday with Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC, after the corporation apologised for “serious flaws” in the making of a documentary about the war in Gaza.
Lisa Nandy said she would be seeking assurances that a review commissioned by the BBC’s director general would be “comprehensive, rigorous and get to the bottom of exactly what has happened”.
The BBC has been engulfed in controversy since it was revealed that the 13-year-old narrator of the documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, is the son of the deputy agriculture minister in the Hamas government in Gaza.
On Thursday, the BBC disclosed that a “limited” payment had been made to the boy’s mother by Hoyo Films, the independent production company that made the documentary.
Nandy said in a statement: “The public rightly holds the BBC to the highest standards of reporting and governance which is why I will be having an urgent meeting with the BBC chair later today.
“I want assurances that no stone will be left unturned by the fact-finding review now commissioned by the BBC’s director general. This review must be comprehensive, rigorous and get to the bottom of exactly what has happened in this case.
“It is critical for trust in the BBC that this review happens quickly, and that appropriate action is taken on its findings.”
After the BBC board met on Thursday to discuss the issue, the corporation said an internal review identified “serious flaws” in the making of the programme. “Some of these were made by the production company and some by the BBC; all of them are unacceptable … We apologise for this,” a spokesperson said.
They added: “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.”
The BBC had asked Hoyo Films several times in writing about any potential connections Abdullah al-Yazouri, the film’s young narrator, and his family “might have with Hamas”.
Since transmission, Hoyo Films told the BBC that it knew Abdullah’s father was a Hamas minister but had failed to tell the corporation, the spokesperson said. “It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”
The BBC was seeking further information about the payment made to the boy’s mother.
In a separate statement, the BBC’s board said mistakes made in producing the documentary were “significant and damaging to the BBC”.
Stuart Andrew, the shadow culture minister, called for a “full independent” inquiry into the making of the documentary, and said police should become involved if any payments had been made to “Hamas or their affiliates”.
Andrew told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the “possibility of payments being made to Hamas or their affiliates is deeply troubling. That is why we believe there needs to be a full independent inquiry, so we can have absolute faith that everything is being looked at in the round, and make sure we know the processes that were followed or not followed, and exactly how much money has been potentially given to Hamas or its affiliates.”
If it emerged that “public money has got into the hands of Hamas or the official, that needs and warrants a proper criminal investigation”, he said. Hamas is designated a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK government.
A former senior executive at the corporation said the BBC had made “basic rookie errors” over the documentary.
Roger Mosey, who was the head of BBC television news until 2013, said mistakes by the corporation were “not an unfortunate accident” but the upshot of “some people not doing their job properly and making sure this programme was fit to be broadcast”.
Speaking on the Today programme, Mosey said: “If you’re going to make a film about the most contentious issue in the world today, and where the BBC has to prove its impartiality, you have to get it right. The fact is that the BBC broadcast it, they took editorial responsibility, and then it has unravelled incredibly quickly.
“I think there are some basic rookie errors made here. It’s not an unfortunate accident. It’s actually that some people were not doing their job properly and making sure this programme was fit to be broadcast.”
Mosey rejected claims there was a “systematic bias against Israel” at the broadcaster. He said: “I don’t think the BBC is biased on the big issues of Israel and the Middle East. I think the BBC tries very hard on the most difficult of stories to get it right, and this so undermines it.”
The BBC said it had no plans to broadcast the documentary again or return it to iPlayer.
Harriet Sherwood writes for The Guardian; she was previously arts & culture correspondent, Jerusalem correspondent, foreign editor and home editor
_______
BBC apologises for ‘significant and damaging’ mistakes in Gaza film
Nadeem Badshah & Harriet Sherwood
The Guardian / February 28, 2025
Independent review to explore making of documentary that featured son of a Hamas official, after BBC board discussion.
The BBC’s board has apologised for the “significant and damaging” mistakes made in producing its documentary on Gaza.
The corporation’s board met on Thursday after it emerged that the son of a Hamas official featured on its programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
A spokesperson said the BBC was seeking “additional assurance” that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates.
A statement from the BBC board said: “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.”
The documentary was pulled from BBC iPlayer on Friday 21 February after it was revealed that Abdullah al-Yazouri, the film’s 13-year-old narrator, was the son of the deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas government.
A spokesperson for the corporation said BBC News conducted an initial review which “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.”
The 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 [the boy] 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.
“It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”
The spokesperson added that the production company, Hoyo Films, told the BBC it 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,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Hoyo Films said: “We felt it was important to hear from voices that haven’t been represented on screen throughout the war with dignity and respect – and to tell the story about the devastating impact of war on their everyday lives.
“We are cooperating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston to help understand where mistakes have been made. We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.”
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, has asked for an independent review into the making of the documentary to be expedited. It will be undertaken by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews.
In response to the BBC’s statement, Danny Cohen, a former director of BBC Television, said: “The BBC must allow a full independent inquiry to investigate the processes that led to this documentary being produced, and the pervasive anti-Israel bias that allowed it to pass through the system unobstructed.”
Artists for Palestine UK, a network of creative workers, said: “We are appalled that the BBC has chosen to give credence to a politicised campaign that sought to discredit a documentary about children’s experiences of unspeakable Israeli military violence, because one child’s father was deputy agriculture minister in Gaza.
“This disgraceful decision comes despite nearly 900 media figures having warned the BBC of the dangers of such an approach.”
Earlier, the BBC announced the departure of its creative chief after five years in charge. Charlotte Moore, the corporation’s chief content officer since 2020, is to leave later this year to take up a job at Sony.
There was no suggestion from Moore or the BBC that her departure was connected to the row over the Gaza documentary.
Moore said: “It’s been a tough decision to leave a job I love and an institution I believe in. But I’ve decided the time is right for a new challenge and a new adventure and to follow my heart to return to making shows.”
She said it had been an honour to “lead the BBC creatively as chief content officer at a time of unprecedented change” and she was “very proud of what we’ve achieved during my time at the helm”.
She will become chief executive of Left Bank Pictures, owned by Sony, which made the Netflix royal drama The Crown and the Starz Scottish historical show Outlander.
Davie said Moore was “a creative powerhouse and real visionary who has made a huge impact during her time at the BBC”.
Last week a letter was sent to Moore, Davie, and Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, asking challenging questions about the documentary.
The documentary’s two UK-based directors, Jamie Roberts and Yousef Hammash, gave directions to two Palestinian camera operators based in Gaza over nine months of filming.
The BBC initially added a clarification to the film, but last Friday the corporation removed it from its platforms, saying: “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company.”
The letter to Moore, Davie and Turness was signed by Cohen, a former BBC One controller, and more than 40 others. It asked if the BBC knew about the child’s father, what diligence checks were undertaken, whether Abdullah or his family were paid, and whether Hamas permitted or authorised the filming.
On Wednesday a separate letter signed by 500 film, TV and other media professionals called on the BBC to reinstate the documentary, saying it was an “essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinians”. Among the signatories were Gary Lineker, Mike Leigh, Juliet Stevenson and Ken Loach.
Nadeem Badshah is a freelance journalist
Harriet Sherwood writes for The Guardian; she was previously arts & culture correspondent, Jerusalem correspondent, foreign editor and home editor
_______
Gary Lineker among 500 media figures urging BBC to reinstate Gaza documentary
Aamna Mohdin & Chris Osuh
The Guardian / February 26, 2025
Film and TV stars among those writing to corporation after it pulled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
Gary Lineker, Ruth Negga, Juliet Stevenson and Miriam Margolyes are among 500 film, TV and other media professionals calling on the BBC to reinstate its documentary on children and young people living in Gaza, describing it as an “essential piece of journalism”.
The broadcaster removed Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone from BBC iPlayer pending a “due diligence” exercise after it emerged that the film’s 14-year-old narrator was the son of a deputy agriculture minister in the territory’s Hamas-run government.
Critics of the programme, including dozens of prominent Jewish journalists, condemned a failure of commissioning standards and questioned whether the BBC had paid any member of Hamas as part of the filming of the documentary.
A letter, sent on Wednesday to the BBC executives Samir Shah, Tim Davie and Charlotte Moore and seen by the Guardian, describes the film as “an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinians”.
The letter claims that some criticism of the documentary is based on “racist assumptions and weaponisation of identity”, and that the deputy agriculture minister and father of the teenage narrator is a civil servant concerned with food production.
“This broad-brush rhetoric assumes that Palestinians holding administrative roles are inherently complicit in violence – a racist trope that denies individuals their humanity and right to share their lived experiences,” it says.
The UK government proscribed the military wing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 2006, and in 2021 also proscribed the Islamist movement’s political wing. There are civil servants in Gaza not involved in political activities, some of whom worked for the government before Hamas took over the territory.
The letter also claims that criticism levelled against Abdullah, the 14-year-old narrator, disregarded “core safeguarding principles”, adding that children “must not be held responsible for the actions of adults, and weaponising family associations to discredit a child’s testimony is both unethical and dangerous”.
The BBC documentary was based on nine months of footage filmed in the run-up to last month’s Israel-Gaza ceasefire, with three children among the main characters. It was produced by an independent company, Hoyo Films.
The Bafta-winning director Jasleen Kaur Sethi, who signed the letter, said: “At the heart of this film are children surviving a war zone and as documentary-makers we have a sacrosanct duty to protect them. The campaign to discredit this film has dehumanised them and shamefully risked putting their lives and safety in danger.”
Lineker, who signed the letter and is the BBC’s best-paid star, announced last year that he would step down as host of Match of the Day. He has previously been criticised for wading into politics, including condemnation of government immigration policy, and has been a staunch defender of the BBC.
Other signatories include the actor Khalid Abdalla, the Bridgerton star India Amarteifio, the novelist Max Porter, the director Ken Loach, the photographer Misan Harriman, the comedian Jen Brister, the presenter Ayo Akinwolere and the writer and actor Asim Chaudhry. The Guardian understands 10 current BBC staff have also signed.
Last week, the BBC received a letter signed by 45 prominent Jewish journalists and members of the media demanding the programme be taken down. Signatories included the former BBC One controller Danny Cohen, the EastEnders actor Tracy-Ann Oberman and the Strike producer Neil Blair.
Phil Rosenberg, the director of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called for an independent inquiry into the broadcaster earlier this week, saying he was concerned by the its “credulous” approach to Hamas.
A spokesperson for the BBC pointed the Guardian to two statements on its corrections and clarifications page saying it was conducting further due diligence with the production company. The documentary will not be available on iPlayer while investigations continue.
This article was amended on 27 February 2025 because an earlier version incorrectly said the former BBC governor Ruth Deech was among signatories of a letter to the BBC demanding the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone be taken down. In fact it was the journalist Sarah Deech who signed it.
Aamna Mohdin is a community affairs correspondent for The Guardian
Chris Osuh is a community affairs correspondent for The Guardian
_______
BBC pulls Gaza documentary featuring child whose father was Hamas minister
Dan Sabbagh
The Guardian / February 21, 2025
Show removed from iPlayer as ‘further due diligence’ carried out and critics ask if any Hamas members were paid for filming
A BBC documentary about Gaza has been pulled from its iPlayer service while the broadcaster deals with intensifying accusations that the film was biased because it failed to make clear the father of its child narrator was a Hamas deputy minister.
BBC sources indicated the intention was to make the documentary available to watch again once a “due diligence” exercise had taken place, but the decision reflects a frustration that the filmmakers did not inform the broadcaster of the situation before transmission.
The BBC said that while the documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, featured “important stories we think should be told, those of the experiences of children in Gaza” there had been “continuing questions raised about the programme”.
In the light of these, the broadcaster stated: “We are conducting further due diligence with the production company. The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”
The BBC had initially said it would “add some more detail to the film” and leave it available to view on catch-up services. But the escalating pressure prompted executives to take firmer action.
Critics of the programme, led by the former BBC One controller Danny Cohen, are asking whether the BBC paid any member of Hamas – a banned terrorist organisation in the UK – as part of the filming of the documentary, which aired on BBC2 on Monday night.
Cohen said on Friday that the “documentary fails the most basic of programme standards” because “links to the terrorist group Hamas were not disclosed” and said that “it appears that children have been manipulated by terrorists”.
Based on nine months of observational footage filmed in the run-up to last month’s ceasefire, three of the documentary’s main characters are children. It was produced by an independent company, Hoyo films.
The day after transmission, the activist and journalist David Collier revealed that the 14-year-old English-speaking narrator, Abdullah, was the son of a Hamas deputy minister for agriculture, Ayman al-Yazouri.
Collier described Abdullah “as the child of Hamas royalty” and pointed out his family connection to the group was not explained in the programme. Yazouri’s profile on LinkedIn says he helps “supervise, facilitate and support agricultural activities in Gaza Strip”.
At the beginning of the film, Abdullah, then 13, asks viewers: “Have you ever wondered what you’d do if your world is destroyed?” He continues: “Most important, could you stay alive? After all this, you could say we’re experts.”
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians criticised the concerns raised, and urged the BBC to “stand firm against these attempts to prevent first-hand accounts of life in Gaza from reaching audiences”.
A statement from the London-based organisation said: “For some, almost any Palestinian perspective appears to be deemed unacceptable. In this case, objections have been raised because Abdullah’s father holds a government role in Gaza’s Hamas-run administration. However, this does not negate the child’s lived experience or invalidate his testimony.”
The documentary features Palestinians criticising Hamas on several occasions, and has been praised for its close-up observational style intended to humanise the situation in the territory.
After Collier’s criticism, 45 prominent Jewish journalists and members of the media signed a letter demanding the programme be taken down. Signatories included Cohen, the Friday Night Dinner and EastEnders actor Tracy-Ann Oberman and the Strike producer Neil Blair.
“Given the serious nature of these concerns, the BBC should immediately postpone any broadcast repeats of the programme, remove it from iPlayer and take down any social media clips of the programme until an independent investigation is carried out and its findings published with full transparency for licence-fee payers,” the letter said.
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said she will talk to the BBC about “the way in which they sourced the people who were featured in the programme”. Allies said she intended to raise the topic as part of her routine engagement with the broadcaster.
Nandy said: “These things are difficult and I do want to acknowledge that the BBC take more care than most broadcasters … They’ve been attacked for being too pro-Gaza, they’ve been attacked for being anti-Gaza.”
This article was amended on 27 February 2025 because an earlier version incorrectly said the former BBC governor Ruth Deech was among signatories of a letter to the BBC demanding the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone be taken down. In fact it was the journalist Sarah Deech who signed it.
Dan Sabbagh is The Guardian’s defence and security editor
