UK culture secretary questions why BBC staff still in post after Gaza documentary

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on Saturday called for accountability at the BBC after the broadcaster aired a documentary on Gaza narrated by the son of a Hamas official—a decision that led to the program being pulled from circulation.

The documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, aired in February and featured a 13-year-old narrator. It was withdrawn after it emerged that the child is the son of a Hamas figure.

A BBC-commissioned review, led by Peter Johnston—head of the independent editorial complaints and reviews body—is expected to be released next week.

The review will assess whether editorial standards were breached and if disciplinary action is warranted.

“I have been very clear that people must be held accountable for the decisions that were taken,” Nandy told The Times. “I have asked the question to the board (of the BBC). Why has nobody been fired?

“What I want is an explanation as to why not. If it is a sackable offense, then obviously that should happen. But if the BBC, which is independent, considers that it is not, I think what all parliamentarians want to know is why.”

The BBC has also committed to a full audit of the program's production expenditure.

Nandy said she felt “exasperated” by the lack of a full explanation from BBC leadership, noting: “I have not had that from the chair or director general yet.”

In response to the controversy, the BBC postponed and eventually pulled a second documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was later aired by Channel 4, another UK broadcaster.

The move drew backlash from pro-Palestinian advocates who saw it as a silencing of Palestinian voices amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 57,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.