Over one hundred BBC staff and contributors have written to the corporation in “despair”, over an antisemitic cricket pundit and implored the corporation to act against Jew hate.
In the letter to BBC Director General Tim Davie and Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore, 119 figures in the media, including tens of Jewish BBC employees, have condemned the corporation for platforming a sports pundit who allegedly celebrated October 7 and likened Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Adolf Hitler.
Former cricketer and sports commentator Qasim Sheikh was part of the BBC’s coverage of the Scotland-England T20 match on Tuesday, despite his inflammatory social media activity.
The letter points to one of Sheikh’s tweets that “likens our Prime Minister alongside other prominent Western leaders including Netanyahu to Hitler, denouncing them collectively as the ‘Kids Killer Union’.”
"Another tweet by Mr Sheikh claims that the terrorists were justified in their indiscriminate mass rape and slaughter [on October 7] in order ‘to defend themselves’” the letter goes on.
The BBC said on Tuesday that it had spoken to Sheikh about the posts and issued a statement on his behalf in which he apologised for “any offence caused”.
"I would never seek to support any loss of innocent lives. That was not my intention," he said in a statement.
Signatories of the letter, who include former director of television Danny Cohen and Panorama presenter John Ware, have slammed this apology as “weak”.
They write with “disbelief” that Sheikh was permitted on the BBC and have called on the corporation to explain whether “due diligence” was completed around Sheikh.
“Qasim Sheikh’s justification and legitimization of the mass murder of (principally) Jews in Israel is ostensibly not a sufficiently ‘significant story in cricket’ to merit any repercussions.
“So please explain to us why Qasim Sheikh was in the box today. If your answer is that the BBC’s social media guidelines do permit his posts they are clearly unfit for purpose. If it is that his tweets predate his hiring, why did you hire him?”
The letter points to the “stark contrast” between the treatment of Sheikh and the BBC’s reprimanding of Michael Vaughan. Vaughan was taken off air in 2021 when he was accused of racist comments made in 2009.
Vaughan categorically denied making racist remarks and was later cleared by the ECB cricket disciplinary team. He was axed from the BBC for approximately two years over the allegations – something the letter’s signatories say shows the BBC’s “double standard.”
The letter concludes, “We are despairing at the total absence of courage, morality and understanding that BBC leadership repeatedly demonstrate in relation to Jews time and again.
“We can now add the case of Qasim Sheikh to the ever-growing canon that the BBC must answer for.”
It is understood that tens of Jewish BBC employees have signed the letter anonymously, such is their fear over potential career repercussions in the cooperation.
The letter is the latest in a series of scandals to hit the corporation since October 7.
In an updated statement issued by the BBC on behalf of Sheikh, he said: “I have been sent the recent letter, and as a result want to reiterate my apology for any offence my past messages caused. I reiterate what happened on October the 7th was morally reprehensible. I have removed the social media posts and want to reiterate that my intention was and is to raise the plight of the death of all innocent civilians
“My position is clearly outlined in my statement of yesterday. I am against all forms of racism and discrimination and I believe in the need for peace in Gaza.”
