Four top British lawyers have made a complaint to Ofcom over the BBC’s refusal to call Hamas members terrorists.
Writing to the communications regulator on Wednesday, the Jewish lawyers said the BBC has “fallen well below the standards expressed in its Editorial Values” in its reporting of the Israel-Hamas war.
The IDF previously said most of the casualties were civilians.
It also said 5,000 missiles had been fired from the Gaza Stripe, hitting 2,687 targets.
The approach has came under fire from ministers and the Jewish Community after an i24 News reporter said families had been gunned down with babies decapitated in a town near Gaza.
“We regularly point out that the British and other governments have condemned Hamas as a terrorist organisation, but that’s their business. We also run interviews with guests and quote contributors who describe Hamas as terrorists,” he added.
Four top lawyers, Jeremy Brier, KC; Lord Wolfson, KC; Lord Pannick, KC; and Lord Grabiner, KC; as well as Lord Polak, honorary president and former director of the Conservative Friends of Israel, wrote to Ofcom, saying the BBC has taken sides by not calling Hamas a terrorist group.
“There is nothing controversial about that. It is a fact,” the letter reads.
They argued that the categorisation of the organisation is “a matter of law,” and that the BBC has breached impartiality precisely because its refusal to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Citing the example of convicted murderers, they said it’s “entirely impartial and obviously right to refer to someone as a ’murderer' after their conviction by a court.”
“It does not involve the taking of sides because it is a purely factual definition, reflecting the true position of guilt established in a court of law,” they said.
As Hamas is prescribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation, the lords said under The Terrorism Act 2000, it means it’s “the legal position in this country.”
“That is not a matter of debate or discussion. It is a matter of legal fact,” they stated, arguing it’s not impartial to use “a significantly ‘watered-down’ descriptor which is less legally precise.”
In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson for Ofcom said, “There is a clear process in place for complaints about the BBC set out in the BBC Charter and Agreement approved by Parliament. Complaints are routed through the ‘BBC First’ framework, the BBC’s internal process. If complainants are not satisfied with the BBC’s final response then they can refer the complaint to Ofcom for assessment.”
For the same reason, Ofcom has declined to reveal how many complaints it has received regarding the matter at this time.