A former senior producer of Panorama has accused the BBC of bias against Israel, saying it has been taken over by a “new, more radical generation”.
Phil Craig, who worked for the corporation for two decades, made the remark at the public debate festival Battle of Ideas in London last weekend.
He said that once the organisation had held its reporters to “super high standards” but had come under the sway of people with partisan views, the Telegraph reported.
“Of course, news makes mistakes. We all know news coverage, it can be faulted. There are wars, people spin them, both sides spin, and there’s propaganda,” he said.
He added: “But all the mistakes in this particular war seem to be in the same direction. Mistakes of hiring people with incredibly partisan views.”
Craig cited the broadcaster’s coverage of the major explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza early in the Israel-Hamas conflict, when a BBC correspondent suggested on air that Israel was to blame.
A consensus later emerged that it had been caused by a misfired Hamas rocket.
The BBC later apologised for the reporter’s comments.
Craig said: “It really worried me. I suspect the thing that caused all this is group-think. It’s a new generation, perhaps, a new, more radical generation, young people, activists, people insufficiently policed, insufficiently guided, old principles not being enforced in the way they have been on us.”
He went on to say that incidents such as this were “mounting alarm and dismay” and helped to “fan fires all around the world, including literal fires at synagogues”.
He added: “Anyone who has ever worked for the corporation’s news operation knows its global influence, and in this case it was deployed in entirely the wrong way.”
A BBC spokesman told the JC: “The BBC is fully committed to reporting the Israel-Gaza war impartially, with no agenda and to the highest standards of journalism.
“We have delivered comprehensive coverage of the conflict with breaking news, ongoing updates on developments and in-depth analysis. BBC News has a duty to our audiences to provide a range of perspectives on the conflict.
“When mistakes are made, we are transparent and accountable in acknowledging them and making corrections.”
Fellow former Panorama producer Lucie Kon revealed on Sunday she had received a settlement of over £400,000 from the BBC after alleging she had been “forced out” for challenging the corporation over its culture of antisemitism.
The Oscar-winning producer also claimed she has asked for a formal apology from the broadcaster and a meeting with the director-general, Matt Brittin, but had been denied both.
The BBC has been contacted by the JC.
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