Israeli president tells PM BBC reporting is ‘distortion of the facts’

Israel’s president has told the UK Prime Minister there should be a “correction” issued over the BBC’s coverage of the conflict in the Middle East, accusing the corporation of a “distortion of the facts”.

In a meeting with Rishi Sunak, Isaac Herzog said there should be an “outcry” over the corporation’s decision not to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

The Prime Minister met with the head of state after landing in Israel on Thursday at the start of a two-day trip calling for any escalation in violence in the wider region to be avoided.

Mr Herzog told him: “We feel that, I’ve made it out public, the way the BBC characterises Hamas is a distortion of the facts.”

He added: “There has to be an outcry so that there will be a correction and Hamas is defined as a terrorist organisation. What else do they need to see to understand that this is an atrocious terrorist organisation?”

In response, Mr Sunak said of the October 7 attacks that “we should call it what it is – an act of terrorism perpetrated by an evil terrorist organisation”.

Downing Street said Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has been in contact with BBC director-general Tim Davie on a “number of occasions” over the past week and there will likely be “further conversations”, suggesting the BBC and other outlets should “reflect on their coverage and learn lessons for the future” following the exchange.

It follows an interview with the Daily Mail in which Mr Herzog said Israeli families had been “wiped off the face of the earth”.

Mr Herzog told the paper: “I feel the BBC’s reporting is atrocious.

“The fact that it does not recognise Hamas as a terror organisation requires a complete legal battle and public battle. It’s unbelievable.

“I’ve seen the booklet that each of those terrorists received. Each one is instructed to go into an innocent village and kibbutz or city and immediately torture whoever is abducted, immediately.”

Under its editorial guidelines, the BBC said it does not use the word “terrorist” but attributes it and makes it clear that Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Government.

A statement from the BBC board, after its regular monthly meeting held earlier this week, said: “No one who has watched or listened to harrowing reports over the last 10 days could be left in any doubt about the horror brought about by Hamas’s attack on defenceless civilians in Israel.

“As this war continues, with so many deaths of innocent civilians in both Israel and Gaza, the BBC will no doubt continue to come under scrutiny about the way in which we cover it – that is to be expected and also welcomed. The BBC is listening.

“We believe that our editorial guidelines serve us well, and continue to serve us well in difficult circumstances; we do periodically review them as a matter of course, and when we do so at our next planned review in the spring, we will consult and debate these issues just as we always do.”

On Monday, the BBC said it has received complaints about its coverage of the conflict and there have been accusations of bias from both sides.

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt suggested the BBC needs to “kick the tyres” to ensure it meets the required broadcasting standards when reporting on the conflict.

Responding to concerns from Conservative former minister Theresa Villiers, Commons Leader Ms Mordaunt told MPs: “There are two issues here. One is the Ofcom Code and certain broadcasters’ adherence to it. In the guidance for that code, it says ‘broadcasters should have regard to the list of proscribed terror groups or organisations in the UK’, and that is incredibly important.

“But I also think it is critical that reporters – sometimes stationed in very stressful environments – need to be reporting facts as facts and those things that are not facts, that have not been verified or are lines to take from terrorist organisations should not be treated as facts. I think that’s very important.

“I think the BBC does focus on these things to a very large degree but we know that sometimes it doesn’t get things right – as we saw recently with their code of conduct surrounding the Gary Lineker situation – so I’m sure they would want to kick the tyres and ensure that anyone listening to a BBC outlet is being given the best possible information.”

Downing Street did not accommodate UK journalists travelling with the Prime Minister for his visit to Israel in what was an unusual move.

The PA news agency understands it was due to space constraints on the plane Mr Sunak journeyed on, with No 10 in-house communications staff having to make separate arrangements to cover the engagements in the Middle East.

The British media were also shut out of Mr Sunak’s talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

Told that US President Joe Biden and Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz brought press with them to Israel, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “Obviously we always seek to facilitate media access.”

Highlighting Mr Sunak’s comments to the media while in Israel, his spokesman added: “I’m sure he will do more media engagements as part of this trip.”