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MPs and Board of Deputies call for urgent action by BBC on ‘bias’
BoD president Phil Rosenberg told BBC chiefs in meeting the current state of affairs was ‘unacceptable’
August 8, 2024 15:49
BoD president Phil Rosenberg told BBC chiefs in meeting the current state of affairs was ‘unacceptable’
August 8, 2024 15:49The chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism has written to the BBC to follow up concerns about the corporation raised by staff.
Joani Reid’s intervention came just days after Board of President Phil Rosenberg discussed the community’s “deep anxieties” over the BBC’s coverage and culture in a meeting with its director-general Tim Davie.
Last week complaints made earlier in the summer by over 200 Jewish BBC employees, former staff and industry figures about antisemitism and perceived bias at the corporation became public.
Writing to Davie, Reid said it was it was “clear that Jewish staff have felt continuously dismissed” while working for the BBC, with their concerns “clearly not being listened to or treated with the level of severity and urgency that is required.”
APPG had “repeatedly questioned elements of the BBC’s conduct”, she said, while her predecessor as chair, Andrew Percy, had raised “multiple complaints”, including questions about antisemitism training that remained unanswered.
The BBC said it would respond to the letter in due course. A spokesman added, “More generally, and as we have previously said, it is a great concern to us if anyone does not feel supported at work and we have well-established and robust processes in place to handle any concerns or complaints raised with us confidentially. As an organisation, we stand united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance.”
In his meeting with Davie last Friday Rosenberg aired British Jewry’s “ongoing concern” and “deep anxieties… about the possibility that the BBC is now institutionally antisemitic, in addition to [being] institutionally biased against Israel,” the Board said in a statement afterwards.
Among topics raised were the BBC’s refusal to describe Hamas as terrorists, description of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “moderate” and problems surrounding BBC Arabic.
Lovely to speak to @JoaniReid, new @APPGAA Chair and MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, about opportunities to work together to tackle the scourge of anti-Jewish racism and build a more cohesive society. Great ally to have! pic.twitter.com/WlR19MJs3X
— Philip Rosenberg (@PhilR_R) July 31, 2024
The Board delegation, which included vice-president Andrew Gilbert and chief executive Michael Wegier, presented a number of proposals to remedy the situation.
Suggestions include quarterly meetings between Rosenberg and Davie; an expedited complaints procedure to allow concerns to be dealt with more quickly; an immediate instruction to news teams to ensure Hezbollah is similarly described as Hamas, as a designated terrorist organisation by the UK; and finding ways to celebrate Jewish staff and contractors within the organisation.
According to the Board statement, Davie said he and the BBC would respond in due course.
Following the meeting, Rosenberg tweeted that his team was “absolutely clear” at the meeting about the “unacceptable state of affairs” within the BBC.
They found the BBC team to be “open and engaged” but would wait to judge the corporation by its actions.