Kneecap effigies and Irish language signage destroyed as controversial Village bonfire goes ahead
It was one of dozens of bonfires which were ignited to mark Eleventh Night.
The NI Fire & Rescue Service said it was 'a challenging and extremely busy night'.
In one incident in Lisburn, a firefighter was attacked at a bonfire.
Meanwhile, in Belfast, a controversial bonfire that the City Council wanted removed went ahead as planned.
Figures appearing to be dressed in the style of rappers Moghlaí Bap, DJ Próvaí and Mo Chara appeared on the pyre in the Village area.
Belfast City Council had on Wednesday ordered the dismantling of the structure following fears over its proximity to a nearby electrical substation and the presence of loose asbestos at the site.
However, the bonfire was lit after the PSNI deemed it too dangerous to intervene.
As well as the effigies, the bonfire contains an Irish tricolour and Palestine flag, as well as a sign penned in Irish which reads: 'Maraigh do aitiúil Kneecap'.
Though grammatically incorrect, the message roughly translates as 'Kill your local Kneecap', an apparent reference to comments made by the band about Tory MPs – for which the group later apologised.
Another sign reading 'SDLP and Alliance do not represent our community'.
It comes after a poster featuring the west Belfast rappers along with a number of sectarian slogans was attached to an Eleventh Night bonfire in Co Tyrone.
The banner, which has a photograph of the west Belfast band as its backdrop has been cable tied to the pallets used to construct the bonfire in the Dungannon area.
It features the heading 'Kill your local Kneecap', with a further line stating 'The only good one is a dead one'. In the centre of the poster is the acronym 'KAT', with 'Death to Hamas' and 'Destroy all Irish Republicans' also on the banner.
At Sandy Row, an effigy wearing a Celtic jersey and a tricolour balaclava has been placed on top of a bonfire alongside two Palestinian flags.
A posted reading 'F**k Kneecap and Palestine' has been fixed to the structure along with another notice reading 'Stop the Boats. Deport Illegals. Stop the Invasion'.
Earlier this afternoon, MP Paul Maskey described similar sectarian displays on a bonfire in west Belfast as 'sickening'.
The offensive banners have appeared on a pyre alongside Irish tricolours in the Highfield area of the city, with police confirming the banners are being treated as 'motivated by hate'.
The 'KAT' slur has this time been painted onto one of the flags in block capital letters and hung above a sign that reads 'stop the boats'.
Another sign with 'ATAT' and 'HYL' painted on it alongside a crosshair target has also been spotted at the site in addition to a sign that warns 'PSNI not welcome in loyalist Highfield'.
Controversial 'migrant boat' bonfire is lit in Moygashel
'Such open and sickening displays of sectarian and racist hatred have absolutely no place in our society,' said Mr Maskey.
"Political unionism must speak out and demand the removal of these offensive materials.
'Real leadership is needed, although it has been sorely lacking in these communities for some time.
'This is clearly a hate crime, and I have reported it to the PSNI.'
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A PSNI spokesperson said: 'Police have received reports regarding offensive signage placed on a bonfire in the Highfield area and in the Eastvale area of Dungannon.
'Enquiries into these matters, which are being treated as being motivated by hate, are ongoing.'
Further items, including a Palestinian flag and a notice reading 'Taigs out' have also been placed on a bonfire in the Waterside area of Londonderry, alongside a banner proclaiming solidarity between Ireland and Palestine.
Meanwhile, a drone carrying an Irish tricolour has been spotted flying over the Shankill Road as the community prepare to light their bonfire.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
UN's Albanese hails 30-nation meeting aimed at ending Israeli occupation of Palestine
The UN rapporteur hit with sanctions by the US last week has vowed not to be silenced as she hailed a 30-nation conference aimed at ending Israel's occupation of Palestine as 'the most significant political development in the past 20 months'. Francesca Albanese will say the two-day gathering in Bogotá, Colombia, starting on Tuesday and including China, Spain and Qatar, comes at 'an existential hour' for Israel and the Palestinian people. The aim of the conference is to set out steps the participating countries can take to implement a UN general assembly motion mandating member states to take measures in support of Israel ending its unlawful occupation of Palestine. The motion set a deadline of September 2025 to implement a July 2024 international court of justice advisory opinion that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories was unlawful. The ICJ said in its advisory opinion that 'Israel's security concerns do not override the principle of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force' and called on it to end its occupation 'as rapidly as possible'. It said UN member states had an obligation 'not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory'. The UK has yet to say what steps if any it is required to take in response to the ICJ opinion. The Colombian president and conference host, Gustavo Petro, says the meeting will show that the world is finally moving from condemnation of Israel's military action to collective action to bring it to a halt. The aim is to agree a detailed plan of political, economic and legal actions, but there are range of views over how far states can go politically or legally to isolate Israel, a country that feels secure so long as it maintains US support. The Hague Group was initially brought together by South Africa and Colombia, but since then support has grown and it now includes Algeria, Brazil, Spain, Indonesia and Qatar. Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, is determined to show that the US state department sanctions will not cow her. 'For too long, international law has been treated as optional – applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful. This double standard has eroded the very foundations of the legal order. That era must end,' she will say in Bogotá. 'The world will remember what we, states and individuals, did in this moment – whether we recoiled in fear or rose in defence of human dignity. Here in Bogotá, a growing number of states have the opportunity to break the silence and revert to a path of legality by finally saying: enough. Enough impunity. Enough empty rhetoric. Enough exceptionalism. Enough complicity. The time has come to act in pursuit of justice and peace – grounded in rights and freedoms for all, and not mere privileges for some, at the expense of the annihilation of others.' Albanese will say that the UN charter and universal human rights instruments must remain everyone's compass. 'I trust that more states will align their policies with these fundamental principles as we move forward in this existential hour – for both the Palestinian and the Israeli people, and the integrity of the international legal order itself,' she will say. The sanctions on Albanese were imposed by the US state department for what it called her 'shameful promotion' of action by the international criminal court against the US and Israel. Albanese will directly address the sanctions in Bogotá. 'These attacks shall not be seen as against me personally. They are a warning to everyone who dares defend international justice and freedom. But we cannot afford to be silenced – and I know I am not alone,' she will say. 'This is not about me or any other single individuals but about justice for the Palestinian people at the most critical juncture in their history.' In an article for the Guardian published last week, Petro framed the stakes of the conference. 'We can either stand firm in defence of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict, or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics,' he wrote. A Hague Group conference in January attended by only nine nations committed to implementing the provisional measures of the international court of justice, issued on 26 January, 28 March and 24 May 2024. In practice this meant measures such arms embargos against Israel by preventing the docking of vessels at any port, if applicable, within their territorial jurisdiction. Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the executive secretary of the Hague Group, said: 'We meet in Bogotá with a twin imperative: to end Israel's impunity and sever the cords of complicity. The international court of justice has already made its rulings, deeming Israel's continued presence in the Palestinian territories as unlawful. There is no absence of legal clarity. 'States will now deliberate how to enforce their obligations – from ceasing arms exports and preventing harbour for vessels carrying military equipment to ensuring justice for all victims.'
Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
How Constance Marten turned from party girl to homeless tearaway who raided bins & sparked one of UK's biggest manhunts
ARISTOCRAT Constance Marten grew up in one of England's finest stately homes and ended up living in a tent foraging bins for food while on the run with convicted rapist Mark Gordon. The 37-year-old former Tatler 'It Girl" hails from landed gentry and her family had close links to the Royals. 10 Constance Marten, 37, was convicted of the gross negligent manslaughter of her daughter Victoria today Credit: Central News 10 Her partner Mark Gordon, 50, was also convicted of gross negligent manslaughter Credit: Central News 10 The baby died while the couple lived 'off-grid' in freezing conditions Credit: Central News 10 Baby Victoria was later found dead inside an abandoned shed in Brighton Credit: Central News But her life spiralled out of control after she and Gordon, 50, met by chance in a North London incense shop in 2014. The couple went off the radar from her friends and family and formed their own self-styled cult living apart from society, with Constance even posing as an Irish traveller when she attended hospital while pregnant. Their life on the edge ended in the tragic death of their fifth child, new-born baby Victoria, after their four previous children were taken into care amid allegations of domestic violence by Gordon. Constance had an idyllic early childhood growing up with her three younger siblings at Grade II listed Crichel House, set on a 5,000-acre estate near Wimborne, Dorset. Read more News CASINO HORROR 3 arrested after dad stabbed to death 'in front of girlfriend' outside casino But two key events left Constance traumatised and vulnerable before she fell for Gordon. When Constance was nine, her father Napier, a former page boy to the late Queen, left his wife Virginie de Selliers, and children to become a nomadic hippie travelling the globe. He spoke about an out-of-body experience while with a group of Aborigines on a cliff-top and an encounter with whales in Hawaii that made him cry 'almost non-stop' for a week. The family estate passed on to oldest son Maximillian, who sold the house and part of the estate to an American hedge fund owner for £34 million in 2013, leaving Constance devastated. Constance broke down as she gave evidence at her trial about a 'traumatic childhood event' and the sale of Crichel House against her grandmother's stated wishes in her will. The second disturbing experience came when Constance was 19 and she attended a Nigerian Christian sect with her devoutly religious mother after leaving RC girls' school St Mary's Shaftesbury, in Dorset. Harrowing moment cop find remains of Constance Marten's baby Victoria stuffed in Lidl bag filled with rubbish Constance spent six months with the Synagogue, Church of All Nations, in Lagos, living under the dictatorial rule of televangelist Temitope Balogun 'TB' Joshua. She and other white people at the sect's compound were humiliated by the guru, forced to eat his leftovers and placed in social exile for not being subservient enough to him or talking about their past. Constance was forced to call cult chief TB Joshua 'Daddy' and told Cosmopolitan magazine in 2013: 'The leader looked me in the eye and said, 'Your family doesn't matter anymore. I'm your father now.'' This comes as... Writer Matthew McNaught, who investigated the church and spoke to Constance about her ordeal, told The Sun: 'She struggled afterwards in the same way as all the other disciples. 'She found it a very traumatic time, especially the fact it was a very controlling environment.' After Constance returned to the UK, she attended Leeds University, initially studying Philosophy before switching to Arabic, Middle Eastern History and Islamic Studies. Friends at the time remember her as a vivacious, talented and charismatic globe-trotting party girl. In 2008, aged 22, she appeared on Tatler magazine's 'Babe of the Month' page. In an accompanying interview, she recalled her privileged childhood growing up at Crichel House with 'days of naked picnics, siestas amid hail bails and tractor scoops.' Revealing a rebel streak, Constance said she loved drinking cider and wanted to get a tortoise tattooed on the bottom of her foot. The best party she had ever been to, she recalled, was at the home of Viscount Cranborne in Dorset. She said: 'There was a gambling tent and bunches of grapes hanging from the walls. It was like a debauched feast from Ancient Greece.' 10 Marten had appeared as Tatler's 'Babe of the Month' aged 22 Credit: Central News 10 Her university friends remember her as a charismatic jet-setting party girl Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Constance also travelled the world and went to festivals including Burning Man and Wireless, saying: 'Dance is my oxygen.' She spent her summer holidays in 2010 working for a film production company in Cairo. One of her colleagues there described her as being 'very decent, nice and friendly' and having 'great potential'. But she added that Constance sometimes chose the 'wrong' type of man, adding: 'She was somehow gullible.' Constance graduated with a 2.1 in June 2012 and moved to London but struggled to establish herself in any long-term jobs. She became a researcher for Qatar-owned news channel Al-Jazeera, and took a journalism course in 2014. Then she met Mark Gordon at an incense shop in Tottenham, North London, in 2014. Birmingham-born Gordon had moved to the US as a child and served a 20-year jail sentence for a brutal rape in Florida he carried out when aged 14. He was deported back to Britain in 2010 and worked as a labourer and lived in Ilford, East London. Timeline of baby 'killing' - how couple evaded cops CONSTANCE Marten and Mark Gordon allegedly sparked a 54-day manhunt across the UK after vanishing with their baby Victoria. Here's how the pair's journey began... December 20, 2022 Marten and Gordon booked into a holiday cottage in Northumberland, with the rental due to end on Boxing Day. The owner told jurors he found the property in "something of a state" on December 28. December 24, 2022 The couple claim their baby daughter was born this day but this has been disputed by prosecutors. December 28, 2022 Their Suzuki broke down on the M18 motorway so a recovery driver took them to a nearby Sainsbury's. There was allegedly no sign of the baby but the back and side windows of the car had been blocked by clothing. January 4, 2023 Marten and Gordon checked into the Ibis hotel at the Lymm Services in Cheshire then later the AC Hotel in Manchester. January 5, 2023 The couple's Peugeot 206 catches fire on the M61 motorway in Greater Manchester. Police launch an urgent probe after finding placenta, burner phones and Marten's passport, jurors were told. She and Gordon are taken to a Morrisons store in Bolton by a member of the public before being seen on CCTV at the nearby Bolton Interchange station. The couple allegedly use Marten's trust for a taxi to Liverpool, then a £400 cab to Harwich in Essex. Cab driver Ali Yaryar, who picked the couple up from Liverpool, told the court: "I think the baby had no clothes". January 6, 2023 The couple arrive in Harwich and check into a Premier Inn at around 3am. They later move to the Fryatt Hotel, where they paid in cash, it was said. January 7, 2023 Marten and Gordon travel by taxi to Colchester then to East Ham in London. The couple allegedly buy a buggy from Argos then grab another cab to Whitechapel. They ate in a Brick Lane restaurant then dump the new buggy - choosing instead to keep Victoria in a Lidl bag, jurors heard. January 8, 2023 The couple spend £475 on a taxi from Hornsey to Newhaven in East Sussex and walk to the South Downs National Park. January 9, 2023 Both Marten and Gordon claim baby Victoria died on this day - making her 16 days old, the court was told. It is said there is no way of knowing this for sure. January 12, 2023 Marten is captured buying snacks and petrol with cash but there was no sign of the baby. Prosecutors say she bought the fuel to cremate the baby but changed her mind. January 16, 2023 Marten and Gordon are seen setting up a tent in Stanmer Park Nature Reserve in the South Downs despite the cold weather. February 16/17, 2023 The couple are spotted near Hollingbury Golf Course in rural Sussex allegedly pushing a buggy with no baby. Their tent is later seen in Coldean Lane in Brighton A driver sees the pair walking towards Stanmer Park with something under Marten's puffer jacket, the court heard. February 19, 2023 Gordon and Marten are allegedly seen in their tent in the park with a very young baby with a "wobbly" head. Jurors told the baby had no socks, blanket or hat on. February 27, 2023 The couple are arrested in Hollingbury Place in Brighton but do not reveal Victoria's location at first, it is said. March 1, 2023 Tragic Victoria is found dead in a Lidl bag covered in rubbish inside a disused shed "like refuse", the court is told. Describing the chance encounter with Gordon, Constance told jurors: 'There was a lady who left her handbag. 'The shopkeeper knew me, she said can you watch over him [Gordon]. We laughed about it. I saw him later and went to a coffee shop. We were good friends then we went travelling together.' In 2015, Constance joined the East 15 Acting School where friends said they heard about her boyfriend but never met him. They said she became increasingly erratic before dropping out after a year. Constance' last picture on social media showed her dancing at an electronic music event in East London in June 2016, just before she vanished. It later emerged she had married Gordon that year in Peru, in a ceremony not legally recognised in the UK. Her mum hired a private investigator for two weeks in October 2016 to find her, and her dad hired one in 2017 and again in 2021. Living off her trust fund allowance of £2,500-a-month, later raised to £3,400, Constance and Gordon travelled across Britain, sleeping in tents and cheap lodgings and regularly swapping cars and burner phones in a deluded attempt to escape from her family's private detectives. She fell pregnant with her first child in 2017 , prompting a London hospital to raise concerns as she had not received antenatal care. In September that year, a national hospital alert was issued to find the couple. They had fled to Wales and were sleeping in a festival-style tent, with bin bags of clothes and bottles of urine at the entrance. Constance appeared at a Welsh hospital with Gordon in winter 2017, both using fake names. She put on a fake Irish accent saying she was a traveller without a GP or NHS number and that she was no longer with her unborn's father. But they were found out and social services alerted. Constance said: 'I made a pact with the devil.' 10 Constance Marten told police that Victoria had died after she fell asleep while holding her Credit: Central News 10 The arrest came following a 54-day manhunt Credit: Central News In spring 2018, the couple turned up out of the blue at a flat in Llanelli, North Wales, with their first baby and a pram stuffed with more than £10,000 in cash. Landlady Guiseppine Allegri told how Constance paid up front for two flats - one for her, and one for Mark across the road. She told The Sun: 'They came from nowhere one day. She had a baby in the pram. The baby was covered in bags and bags and bags. They were hiding the baby.' Guiseppine told them babies were not allowed but bent the rules for them after Constance insisted 'he's awfully good'. The landlady provided an insight into the couple's relationship, saying of Gordon: 'He was very possessive and controlling of Constance. It was him who spoke all the time. 'I told her to go back to her family. I couldn't see why she was with him. He was so creepy. But she thought Mark was the best thing. 'Constance told me he was an honourable and good man. But she said he had difficulties and had been abused as a child.' She said Gordon never worked during the six months he was in the flat, and Marten paid for everything. Guiseppine added: 'He was very domineering. He was the boss. There was never a smile on him, never an honest smile. He had an angry smile.' The couple left in a rush in a van with two men who said the couple went to Birmingham. Guiseppine said they left around £350 of damage caused by candles and joss sticks, adding: 'I think they were running away.' There is no record of Constance and Gordon in Birmingham but they later ended up in a house in Ley Street in Ilford, East London. Their first child had a bouncy castle in his room, and Constance complained about having to find other ways to get money because she was getting less from the family trust. Neighbours said the couple rarely left the house during daylight and that paranoid Gordon installed a CCTV camera as soon as they arrived. One told The Sun: 'Sometimes we saw them coming and going at night but they were not neighbourly. 'Social services came at times to knock but they didn't open the door. They came again and again.' Constance conceived their second child while at the house but in November 2019, while five weeks pregnant, Constance fell from a window rupturing her spleen after apparently being pushed by Gordon. 10 In 2021 a judge ordered her four children should be adopted, shortly before she fell pregnant with Victoria Credit: Central News 10 The couple would carry Victoria around in a Lidl bag after getting rid of their pram Credit: Central News Gordon initially refused to let paramedics into their home and during later care proceedings, Gordon was blamed for the incident. Constance told police she had fallen while trying to adjust the TV aerial outside the window, but officers found the TV had a blanket over it and was not in use. No further action was taken and Constance tried to discharge herself from the hospital. Constance then took the children to Ireland on her own and tried to find a house to pay in cash to stay in. Her father applied for ward of court proceedings and Constance attended a police station before the two children were taken into care. A separation order was made when Constance refused to go into a residential unit when her third child was born. Constance and Gordon regularly failed to attend contact sessions, claiming social workers were lying about them. And she hid behind a door to hide her fourth pregnancy from an unplanned social worker visit in 2021. But in February 2021, a judge ordered the four children should be adopted. Then in early 2022, she fell pregnant with Victoria. The couple hid the pregnancy and frequently moved between local authorities so none would have jurisdiction over her. They moved between AirBnBs in Sheffield and Leeds weeks before going on the run. Constance was missing when Constance' brother Max married jewellery designer Ruth Aymer in a high society wedding featured in Vogue magazine, in September that year. Their father Napier was also absent. On January 5 2023, days after Victoria's birth, Constance and Gordon were making plans to leave the country. They were driving along the M62 in Manchester when their Peugeot 208 caught fire and they ran, leaving £2,000 cash, her passport, her card and placenta. Constance told the court their plan 'disintegrated' from this point, spiralling into one of Britain's biggest manhunts which ended when Victoria was found dead in a disused allotment shed.
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Telegraph
BBC adviser asked ‘is documentary clean of Hamas'? Bosses never bothered to reply
The BBC's Gaza documentary was declared to be 'all clean of Hamas', despite its narrator being the son of a Hamas minister, a report has found. Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone was categorised as a 'high risk' project by the BBC, yet was broadcast without crucial questions being answered. A month before the broadcast, an editorial policy adviser at the BBC asked: 'Has due diligence been done on those featured to ensure, e.g. the lead boy doesn't have links in any way to [Hamas]? I'm sure it has…' The question was never answered, but the programme went ahead. Three members of Hoyo Films, the independent production company that made the documentary, knew the narrator's family background but did not tell the BBC about it, the report found. They paid Abdullah Alyazouri's family £795 for his contribution, and also gave him a gift card for a computer game and a second-hand mobile phone, to a total value of £1,817. The day after the documentary was broadcast, it emerged that Abdullah, the 13-year-old narrator, was the son of Ayman Alyazouri, a deputy minister for agriculture in the Hamas-led government. An internal review conducted by Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints, ruled that the documentary breached editorial guidelines on accuracy by failing to disclose 'critical information' about Abdullah's family history. But it cleared the BBC of breaching impartiality guidelines, despite Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, earlier saying that the row was a 'dagger to the heart' of the broadcaster's reputation for impartiality. Ofcom announced that it was launching an investigation into the BBC 'under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience'. Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, apologised for the 'mistake' but refused to say whether anyone would face the sack. She viewed the documentary at a special screening ahead of its television broadcast, but defended her role. She said: 'I didn't know then what I know now.' 'Unflinching' documentary Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone was billed as an 'unflinching' documentary narrated by Abdullah, a Palestinian boy living in the so-called 'safe zone'. It was broadcast on Feb 17. 'My name is Abdullah. I'm 13 years old. I'm stuck here in Gaza. Have you ever wondered what you'd do if your world was destroyed?' he asks, leading viewers through the rubble. He explains that he attended 'the best school in Gaza, the British school' but now lives in a tent. Other children featured in the film include Renad, a young girl who presents a TikTok cookery show, and Zakaria, an 11-year-old who works as a fixer at one of Gaza's hospitals. The documentary includes scenes from inside the hospital, including a doctor in an operating theatre holding up a severed arm and shouting: 'Look what the Israelis are doing to the children of Gaza.' Jamie Roberts and Yousef Hammash, the film's two directors, remotely directed two Gazan cameramen, as Israel does not allow foreign journalists to operate inside Gaza. What the filmmakers knew Hoyo Films, the production company engaged by the BBC, spotted Abdullah on Channel 4 in April 2024 and approached him to become a contributor. Two months later, they submitted a 'taster' tape to the BBC in which he appeared prominently. By July, three members of the production company – the director, the co-director and one crew member in Gaza – had become aware that Abdullah's father was Ayman Alyazouri, according to the report. They met the father in August to gain permission to film Abdullah. But Hoyo did not at any stage share Abdullah's family background with the BBC. Interviewed for the report, they claimed to have reached a view that Abdullah's father was in 'a civilian or technocratic position', rather than a political or military one. This was supported by the fact that, when they met him, Mr Alyazouri was moving openly around Gaza and not taking security precautions. In addition, the Gazan civil government – other than the health ministry – had not been functioning since 2023, so they considered him to be 'no longer in employment'. The report noted: 'The production company was also under the impression, whether rightly or wrongly, that there was a clear distinction between officials and ministers working for the Gazan civil government and Hamas.' BBC failures The BBC identified early on in the production that the documentary carried 'reputational risk' and a 'due impartiality challenge', adding it to the internal managed risk programme list. One of the commissioning editors sought advice from BBC colleagues who identified the need for due diligence and background checks on the contributors and crew, including potential links or affiliations to Hamas. The editorial policy unit was consulted for advice, and provided notes. One adviser from the unit asked on Dec 19 last year: 'I presume we have checked out the bona fides of the people we use?' On Jan 8, a BBC commissioning editor sent a WhatsApp to Hoyo asking if there was a paper trail on the background checking of contributors. Hoyo replied: 'No – we did a social media check with those that are online and [a] check with local community members – all clean of Hamas.' On Jan 12, they asked: 'Has due diligence been done on those featured to ensure e.g. the lead boy doesn't have links in any way to [Hamas]? I'm sure it has…' And on Jan 15, a note from a member of the BBC commissioning team asked if anyone had checked Abdullah's family background. But at a zoom meeting on Jan 22 to address any outstanding issues, these last two questions were not answered. The report found that the production company carried most of the responsibility for the failure to inform the BBC but that it did not intentionally mislead the broadcaster. However, it added that putting Abdullah forward as the narrator – given his background – was wrong. But it also said the BBC 'bears some responsibility', first for being 'insufficiently proactive' in failing to scrutinise the role of the narrator at an early stage, and then for its 'lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions'. The BBC should not have signed off on the film without having the answer to every question, the report concluded. Narrator's payment Abdullah's adult sister was paid a £795 'disturbance fee' for his participation in the programme, while Abdullah was given a second-hand mobile phone and a gift card for a computer game – together, this amounted to a total value of £1,817. The production company said the money was intended for Abdullah's mother, as his legal guardian, but was paid via the sister as the mother did not have a Bank of Palestine account. In his report, Mr Johnston concluded: 'I do not consider the amount or purpose of any of these payments to have been outside of the range of what might be reasonable.' The fallout Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, previously asked why nobody had been fired over the documentary, although her language on Monday was noticeably calmer. Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, said he was sorry for the 'significant failing' in relation to accuracy. Ofcom launched its own investigation into whether audiences were misled. The BBC promised 'accountability' but Ms Turness refused to be drawn on whether anyone would lose their job over the mistakes. She apologised for the error but sought to blame Hoyo Films, saying: 'The questions should have been answered by the independent production company at the many times of asking.' As for the future of the documentary, it may be re-edited into shorter films that could be made available on iPlayer.
