BBC Chair Says ‘People Weren’t Doing Their Job’ Assuring Impartiality Standards Were Met When Questioned About Pulled ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ Doc

variety.com:

Alex Ritman The heads of the BBC have addressed the ongoing controversy concerning its documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” with the broadcaster’s chair describing it as a “dagger to the heart” of BBC impartiality.

The documentary was pulled from the BBC streaming service iPlayer two weeks ago after concerns were raised following the revelation that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a deputy agricultural minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run government.

In announcing that it was pulling the doc, the BBC acknowledged its failure to disclose the boy’s family ties to Hamas and said it would be conducting “further due diligence” with London-based production company Hoyo Films.

On Tuesday in a pre-planned Parliamentary session, the matter was raised to BBC director general Tim Davie and chair Samir Shah. “I agree that this is a really bad moment,” Shah said. “What has been revealed is a dagger to the heart of the BBC’s claim to be impartial and trustworthy, which is why I and the board are determined to answer the questions being asked.” He added that the BBC Board was “very exercized” by the scandal and would aim to “get to the bottom of this and take appropriate actions.” Davie said that it was a “very difficult decision” to remove the documentary, adding that these were “stories we want to tell.” He also pushed back on the idea that the BBC bowed to “lobbies from either side,” and said that it simply came to whether “people can trust this program” and not whether it was a “valid area of journalistic endeavour.” Shah noted that questions about the doc arose the day it first aired and said he found, to his “shock,” that there were “serious failings on both sides [concerning how the doc was made], on the independent.