BBC was 'manipulated by terrorists' over Gaza documentary narrated by son of a Hamas official, claims former chief
A former BBC chief has said the Corporation was 'manipulated by terrorists' after the production company behind a Gaza documentary admitted it had paid the family of a senior Hamas official.
Danny Cohen, the former controller of BBC1, laid criticism at the Beeb and called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to ensure an independent inquiry is held into the failings of the documentary and the 'wider systemic issues of anti-Israel bias'.
It comes after the broadcaster aired a programme called Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone which, it was later revealed, featured a 14-year-old boy named Abdullah, the son of a senior Hamas official.
The corporation revealed on Thursday night that the boy's mother was paid by Hoyo Films 'via his sister's bank account' for his involvement in the documentary which, as previously reported, could prompt a counter terror police probe.
The revelation prompted a coalition of politicians and campaigners to demand counter-terror police investigate whether licence-fee cash ended up in the bank accounts of terrorists.
The Culture Secretary organised an emergency meeting with the BBC's chair, Samir Shah, to discuss the organisation's 'serious failings' and demanded that 'no stone is left unturned' in a fact-finding review ordered by the BBC's Director General.
Now, Mr Cohen, former director of BBC Television from 2013 to 2015, has called for an inquiry as he accused the BBC of being 'manipulated by terrorists'.
He told the Times: 'Given the scale of the BBC's failings, it feels absolutely appropriate for the culture secretary to ensure this happens.
'The ultimate failing here is by the BBC's leadership. They should not be allowed to just investigate themselves … the journalistic failings of this programme are part of a wider system failure at the BBC.'
The broadcaster published an apology and documentary and admitted that 'serious flaws' had been identified 'in the making' of the programme.
A BBC spokesperson added: 'During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC, about any potential connections he 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.
But this has done little to allay outrage as campaigners demand 'arrests' are made if it is found the BBC paid money to terrorists.
Lord Ian Austin, a former Labour MP who now sits as an independent peer, told the Daily Mail: 'Surely those who oversaw the making of this program should be sacked for the very serious professional and moral failings.
'The Met must immediately investigate whether the BBC allowed public money to end up in the hands of terrorists.
'There must be an independent enquiry into how this documentary was made and if anyone is found responsible for paying or overseeing the payment of license-fee money to Hamas they should face the full force of the law.'
Politicians and campaigners said heads must roll after the corporation admitted 'serious flaws' in the documentary's production.
Those under the spotlight include head of BBC current affairs Joanna Carr, along with commissioning editors Gian Quaglieni and Sarah Waldron, who were all directly involved in the programme.
Further up the management chain, the highly paid chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, Deborah Turness, also faces questions.
Alex Hearn, Co-Director of Labour Against Antisemitism, added: 'Counter terrorism police must now investigate what happened and if necessary arrests should be made.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'A national treasure has become a national embarrassment.
'The BBC has now admitted that licence fee funds were paid to the family of a senior Hamas official.
'It has not yet been able to rule out that further payments to Hamas were made as it continues to investigate where hundreds of thousands of pounds went.
'Clearly, those responsible must lose their jobs.
'We are among those who have reported the BBC to Counter Terrorism Policing, which is now investigating.
Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, has now asked Peter Johnston, the director for editorial complaints and reviews who carried out the investigation into Russell Brand's behaviour, to lead a fact-finding review of the episode.
BBC was approached for comment.
