BBC Says ‘Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone’ Producers Hid Narrator’s Hamas Connections, As Corporation Launches In-Depth Review

The BBC has revealed that the producers behind the controversial Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone doc were aware of the narrator’s links to Hamas.

In an unprecedented in-depth statement following a BBC Board meeting, a BBC spokesperson said producer HOYO Films, which is run by the doc’s director Jamie Roberts, have “acknowledged since transmission that they knew that the boy’s father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government.”

The BBC said it identified serious flaws in the doc, with some of the flaws made by the production company and some the responsibility of the BBC.

“BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation,” said the spokesperson. “We apologise for this.”

The show will remain off iPlayer and will not be repeated until an in-depth review is competed by Peter Johnston, who conducted the recent probe into Russell Brand. We have previously contacted Roberts for comment about the doc.

The issue first reared its head last week when an investigative journalist unearthed that one of the doc’s narrators was the son of a Hamas minister. A group of 4 Jewish TV industry figures contacted the BBC and the doc was eventually removed from iPlayer with the BBC saying HOYO Films failed to inform executives about the narrator’s father. In response, hundreds of people including BBC presenter Gary Lineker signed an open letter condemning the corporation’s “censorship on Palestine.”

In the statement published in the past few minutes, the BBC said: “While the intent of the documentary was aligned with our purpose – to tell the story of what is happening around the world, even in the most difficult and dangerous places – the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations.”

It went on to give an in depth explanation of the situation regarding the Hamas connections. According to the BBC, during the production process, HOYO was “asked in writing a number of times by the BBC about any potential connections [the narrator] and his family might have with Hamas.”

“Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy’s father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact,” added the statement. “It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”

Question marks have also arise over whether HOYO paid the narrator, his family or any other Hamas member and today the BBC said “Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy’s mother, via his sister’s bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration.” “While Hoyo Films have assured us that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift, the BBC is seeking additional assurance around the budget of the programme and will undertake a full audit of expenditure,” added the unprecedented statement. “We are requesting the relevant financial accounts of the production company in order to do that.”

The review has been “expedited,” the statement said, and Johnston will “consider all of the complaints and issues that have been raised, determine whether any editorial guidelines have been broken; rapidly address the complaints that have been made; and, enable the BBC to determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted in relation to shortcomings in the making of this programme.”

Following its meeting, the BBC Board said: “The subject matter of the documentary was clearly a legitimate area to explore, but nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism. While the Board appreciates that mistakes can be made, the mistakes here are significant and damaging to the BBC. The Board has required the Executive to report back at the earliest opportunity on the outcomes of the work the Director-General has commissioned.” 

The meeting took place on the day that BBC content boss Charlotte Moore announced her exit.