The Board of Deputies has condemned the BBC for not taking action against Tim Willcox after his interview with a Jewish woman about the terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris sparked anger.
A “very large number” of complaints had been received following Mr Willcox’s suggestion that “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands” when questioning the woman, named as Chava, at a rally in Paris.
When the woman said that the situations in Paris and the Middle East could not be compared, Mr Willcox said: "But you understand, everything is seen from different perspectives".
Investigations carried out by the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit, found “nothing in Mr Willcox’s comments which is intrinsically disrespectful”.
Board vice president Jonathan Arkush said: “It’s remarkable that the BBC could have reviewed the evidence and dismissed the complaints against Tim Willcox so airily and it raises very serious questions over the objectivity of the inquiry.
“The BBC is clearly unfit to be the judge and jury in cases when it is also the accused.”
Fraser Steel, head of ECU said: “I saw nothing in Chava’s demeanour to suggest that she felt disrespected.
"I am not proposing to uphold the complaints. I share Mr Willcox’s view that his comments were poorly-phrased, but I think they were no worse than that."
