The BBC has denied that it declined to broadcast a radio version of the controversial play Seven Jewish Children because of concerns about impartiality.
A story in the Guardian reported BBC Radio 4 drama commissioning editor Jeremy Howe as saying that despite regarding the play as “brilliant”, it had been shelved on the grounds that it could compromise editorial impartiality.
The report went on to say that the BBC had refused to broadcast the play by Caryl Churchill because it needed to remain impartial.
The paper claimed that Howe wrote in an email: “Both Mark [Damazer, Radio 4 controller] and I think it is a brilliant piece but after discussing it with editorial policy we’ve decided we cannot run it on grounds of impartiality. It would be nearly impossible to run a drama that counters Caryl Churchill’s view. Having debated long and hard we have decided we can’t do Seven Jewish Children.”