Latest news with #Turness
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Hamas politicians and its military wing are not the same, BBC News chief says
It is understood Deborah Turness made the comments when she was asked about the documentary during a routine staff meeting. A video appears to show Ms Turness saying: 'I think it's really important that we are clear that (the narrator) Abdullah's father was the deputy agricultural minister and therefore, you know, was a member of the Hamas-run government, which is different to being part of the military wing of Hamas. 'And I think externally it's often simplified that he was in Hamas, and I think it's an important point of detail that we need to continually remind people of the difference and of that connection.' Hamas's military wing was proscribed in 2001 and that was extended in 2021 to include its political wing. After Ms Turness's comments were reported, a BBC spokesperson said: 'The BBC constantly makes clear on our programmes and platforms that Hamas are a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Government and others. 'We are also clear that we need to describe to our audiences the complexities of life in Gaza, including within the structure of Hamas, which has run the civilian functions of Gaza.' They added: 'Deborah Turness was answering a question about how we described the father of the narrator in our Warzone film. 'She did not imply that Hamas are not a single terrorist organisation. 'As we have said, there was an editorial breach in this film, and we are sorry. We will not show the film again in its current form and we should not have used this child as the narrator.' Ofcom announced on Monday that it will investigate the documentary after an external review found the programme had breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy. The review, conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews, which is independent of BBC News, said the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. It found no other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that outside interests 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. The report said that 'careful consideration of the requirements of due impartiality was undertaken in this project given the highly contested nature of the subject matter'. Ofcom said it had examined the BBC report and would be investigating under its broadcasting code, which states that factual programmes 'must not materially mislead the audience'. An Ofcom spokesperson said: 'Having examined the BBC's findings, we are launching an investigation under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience.'
North Wales Chronicle
5 days ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
BBC News executive says it ‘failed' to ask right questions on Gaza documentary
It comes after a report looking into the documentary, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official, found that it breached BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy. The review, published on Monday, was conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews which is independent of BBC News, and found that the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. It did not, however, find any other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that 'outside interests' 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 World At One programme, Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News said: 'Our current affairs teams, day in, day out, week in, week out, are creating and pushing out incredibly controversial, difficult, complex documentaries. 'We have really good, best in class systems in place, but in this we failed, and we must put in place new processes which will enable us to continue with our courageous journalism with confidence.' She also added: 'It's about accountability. And I think what you can see today is that the BBC has taken this incredibly seriously. We have led a full and thorough investigation, which we are publishing full and transparently. 'Everything is out there, and we share the action plan that we're now putting into place to prevent this kind of mistake happening again. 'We are responsible for everything that we publish and everything we broadcast. We take it incredibly seriously, and we didn't run those questions to ground.' Ms Turness also addressed a second Gaza documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was originally commissioned by the broadcaster from an independent production company called Basement Films. However, the corporation delayed airing it until the review into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was released. The documentary, which includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, was later pulled entirely and aired on Channel 4 earlier this month. Ms Turness said: 'We want to tell the stories of Gaza. We are telling the stories of Gaza. 'We've got long form projects in the pipeline. We are covering Gaza, and we're covering it with courage and without fear or favour. 'During that production, the BBC raised concerns around the social media activity of one of the journalists. Obviously, we are incredibly protective and conscious of our impartiality and our very high standards of impartiality, and we were concerned about the activity of the journalist concerned. 'We decided, in the light of those concerns, that we would pause broadcast of that documentary while waiting to see what the Peter Johnston report would bring us. 'The film company weren't happy with that pause, and they wanted the journalism to air sooner. So we were trying to find a way around that, trying to find a way without airing the documentary, to put the journalism and the voice of the doctors on our platforms. 'And then came a moment where the lead journalist went on the Today programme to talk about Israel's attacks on Iran and used language around Israel that was really not compatible with the BBC standards of impartiality and made it impossible for us to continue with the project. 'It was very difficult to imagine that it could meet the BBC standards of impartiality, and that it would have created at least a perception of partiality, had we aired it. 'And the right thing to do at that time was to walk away, because no BBC journalist could have said what that journalist said on air, and therefore we have to apply some of the same standards to those who work with us from the outside.'
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
BBC News executive says it ‘failed' to ask right questions on Gaza documentary
It comes after a report looking into the documentary, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official, found that it breached BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy. The review, published on Monday, was conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews which is independent of BBC News, and found that the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. BBC Broadcasting House in London (Ian West/PA) It did not, however, find any other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that 'outside interests' 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 World At One programme, Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News said: 'Our current affairs teams, day in, day out, week in, week out, are creating and pushing out incredibly controversial, difficult, complex documentaries. 'We have really good, best in class systems in place, but in this we failed, and we must put in place new processes which will enable us to continue with our courageous journalism with confidence.' She also added: 'It's about accountability. And I think what you can see today is that the BBC has taken this incredibly seriously. We have led a full and thorough investigation, which we are publishing full and transparently. 'Everything is out there, and we share the action plan that we're now putting into place to prevent this kind of mistake happening again. 'We are responsible for everything that we publish and everything we broadcast. We take it incredibly seriously, and we didn't run those questions to ground.' Ms Turness also addressed a second Gaza documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was originally commissioned by the broadcaster from an independent production company called Basement Films. However, the corporation delayed airing it until the review into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was released. The documentary, which includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, was later pulled entirely and aired on Channel 4 earlier this month. Ms Turness said: 'We want to tell the stories of Gaza. We are telling the stories of Gaza. 'We've got long form projects in the pipeline. We are covering Gaza, and we're covering it with courage and without fear or favour. 'During that production, the BBC raised concerns around the social media activity of one of the journalists. Obviously, we are incredibly protective and conscious of our impartiality and our very high standards of impartiality, and we were concerned about the activity of the journalist concerned. 'We decided, in the light of those concerns, that we would pause broadcast of that documentary while waiting to see what the Peter Johnston report would bring us. 'The film company weren't happy with that pause, and they wanted the journalism to air sooner. So we were trying to find a way around that, trying to find a way without airing the documentary, to put the journalism and the voice of the doctors on our platforms. 'And then came a moment where the lead journalist went on the Today programme to talk about Israel's attacks on Iran and used language around Israel that was really not compatible with the BBC standards of impartiality and made it impossible for us to continue with the project. 'It was very difficult to imagine that it could meet the BBC standards of impartiality, and that it would have created at least a perception of partiality, had we aired it. 'And the right thing to do at that time was to walk away, because no BBC journalist could have said what that journalist said on air, and therefore we have to apply some of the same standards to those who work with us from the outside.'
Rhyl Journal
5 days ago
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
BBC News executive says it ‘failed' to ask right questions on Gaza documentary
It comes after a report looking into the documentary, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official, found that it breached BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy. The review, published on Monday, was conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews which is independent of BBC News, and found that the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. It did not, however, find any other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that 'outside interests' 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 World At One programme, Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News said: 'Our current affairs teams, day in, day out, week in, week out, are creating and pushing out incredibly controversial, difficult, complex documentaries. 'We have really good, best in class systems in place, but in this we failed, and we must put in place new processes which will enable us to continue with our courageous journalism with confidence.' She also added: 'It's about accountability. And I think what you can see today is that the BBC has taken this incredibly seriously. We have led a full and thorough investigation, which we are publishing full and transparently. 'Everything is out there, and we share the action plan that we're now putting into place to prevent this kind of mistake happening again. 'We are responsible for everything that we publish and everything we broadcast. We take it incredibly seriously, and we didn't run those questions to ground.' Ms Turness also addressed a second Gaza documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was originally commissioned by the broadcaster from an independent production company called Basement Films. However, the corporation delayed airing it until the review into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was released. The documentary, which includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, was later pulled entirely and aired on Channel 4 earlier this month. Ms Turness said: 'We want to tell the stories of Gaza. We are telling the stories of Gaza. 'We've got long form projects in the pipeline. We are covering Gaza, and we're covering it with courage and without fear or favour. 'During that production, the BBC raised concerns around the social media activity of one of the journalists. Obviously, we are incredibly protective and conscious of our impartiality and our very high standards of impartiality, and we were concerned about the activity of the journalist concerned. 'We decided, in the light of those concerns, that we would pause broadcast of that documentary while waiting to see what the Peter Johnston report would bring us. 'The film company weren't happy with that pause, and they wanted the journalism to air sooner. So we were trying to find a way around that, trying to find a way without airing the documentary, to put the journalism and the voice of the doctors on our platforms. 'And then came a moment where the lead journalist went on the Today programme to talk about Israel's attacks on Iran and used language around Israel that was really not compatible with the BBC standards of impartiality and made it impossible for us to continue with the project. 'It was very difficult to imagine that it could meet the BBC standards of impartiality, and that it would have created at least a perception of partiality, had we aired it. 'And the right thing to do at that time was to walk away, because no BBC journalist could have said what that journalist said on air, and therefore we have to apply some of the same standards to those who work with us from the outside.'
South Wales Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
BBC News executive says it ‘failed' to ask right questions on Gaza documentary
It comes after a report looking into the documentary, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas official, found that it breached BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy. The review, published on Monday, was conducted by Peter Johnston, the director of editorial complaints and reviews which is independent of BBC News, and found that the programme was in breach of accuracy for 'failing to disclose information about the child narrator's father's position within the Hamas-run government'. It did not, however, find any other breaches of editorial guidelines, including breaches of impartiality, and also found no evidence that 'outside interests' 'inappropriately impacted on the programme'. Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 World At One programme, Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News said: 'Our current affairs teams, day in, day out, week in, week out, are creating and pushing out incredibly controversial, difficult, complex documentaries. 'We have really good, best in class systems in place, but in this we failed, and we must put in place new processes which will enable us to continue with our courageous journalism with confidence.' She also added: 'It's about accountability. And I think what you can see today is that the BBC has taken this incredibly seriously. We have led a full and thorough investigation, which we are publishing full and transparently. 'Everything is out there, and we share the action plan that we're now putting into place to prevent this kind of mistake happening again. 'We are responsible for everything that we publish and everything we broadcast. We take it incredibly seriously, and we didn't run those questions to ground.' Ms Turness also addressed a second Gaza documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was originally commissioned by the broadcaster from an independent production company called Basement Films. However, the corporation delayed airing it until the review into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was released. The documentary, which includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, was later pulled entirely and aired on Channel 4 earlier this month. Ms Turness said: 'We want to tell the stories of Gaza. We are telling the stories of Gaza. 'We've got long form projects in the pipeline. We are covering Gaza, and we're covering it with courage and without fear or favour. 'During that production, the BBC raised concerns around the social media activity of one of the journalists. Obviously, we are incredibly protective and conscious of our impartiality and our very high standards of impartiality, and we were concerned about the activity of the journalist concerned. 'We decided, in the light of those concerns, that we would pause broadcast of that documentary while waiting to see what the Peter Johnston report would bring us. 'The film company weren't happy with that pause, and they wanted the journalism to air sooner. So we were trying to find a way around that, trying to find a way without airing the documentary, to put the journalism and the voice of the doctors on our platforms. 'And then came a moment where the lead journalist went on the Today programme to talk about Israel's attacks on Iran and used language around Israel that was really not compatible with the BBC standards of impartiality and made it impossible for us to continue with the project. 'It was very difficult to imagine that it could meet the BBC standards of impartiality, and that it would have created at least a perception of partiality, had we aired it. 'And the right thing to do at that time was to walk away, because no BBC journalist could have said what that journalist said on air, and therefore we have to apply some of the same standards to those who work with us from the outside.'
