UK legal experts criticize BBC's Hamas coverage

British legal figures, including Jeremy Brier KC, Lord Polak, Lord Wolfson KC, Lord Pannick KC, and Lord Grabiner KC, have called out the BBC for its choice of words in its recent coverage of the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7.

In a strongly-worded letter to Lord Michael Grade, a prominent figure in the UK broadcasting industry, they wrote "On 7th October 2023, Hamas launched a large invasion of the State of Israel which resulted in the slaughter, rape, and abduction of over a thousand Israeli citizens," the letter states, unambiguously denouncing the act as a fact and not as a controversial point.

In a strongly-worded letter to Lord Michael Grade, a prominent figure in the UK broadcasting industry, they wrote that “Hamas launched a large invasion of Israel which resulted in the slaughter, rape, and abduction of over a thousand Israeli citizens.”

The letter was sent to Grade, since he held leadership roles in major British television channels including BBC One, Channel 4, and ITV. The group accused the BBC of not living up to its Editorial Values, especially in ensuring coverage that is “fair and accurate”, emphasizing that the network should aim to “reflect the views and experiences of our audiences” and to ensure that “no significant strand of thought is under-represented or omitted.”

A central issue raised in the letter is the BBC’s characterization of Hamas. The BBC’s use of the term “militants” is challenged by the legal group who highlight that, according to the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000, Hamas is legally categorized as a “proscribed terrorist organization.” The letter emphasizes: “That is not a matter of debate or discussion. It is a matter of legal fact.

“It is entirely impartial and obviously right to refer to someone as a ‘murderer’ after their conviction by a Court,” the letter explains. By this logic, referring to Hamas using its legal classification should be deemed impartial.

BBC's inconsistency

Inconsistency in BBC’s reporting is further highlighted: “This is behavior which the BBC readily understands is terror/terrorism in other contexts, e.g. in its coverage of the Manchester bombings.”

Notably, even renowned BBC correspondent Jon Sopel appeared to be at odds with the corporation’s current stance. Quoting a recent tweet by Sopel, the letter points out: “Dear friends and former colleagues @BBCNews, If this doesn’t describe an act of pure terror by terrorists what does? The guidelines that I followed for years are no longer fit for purpose...

In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, Brier said that “not only have we as a community been faced with unparalleled scenes of tragedy from Israel, but we have had to suffer the secondary indignity of it not being reported accurately by our national broadcaster. It is incontrovertible that Hamas is a terrorist organization and should be described that way.”

The National Jewish Association will be leading a protest against the BBC for their alleged bias in reporting. The protest will take place Monday from 6:30 PM outside the BBC's office in London.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.