The BBC has ruled that one of its presenters violated editorial policy by describing Hamas as a “terror group,” despite the fact that the organization is formally banned and legally designated as a terrorist organization under U.K. law.

The corporation’s executive complaints unit (ECU) decided that a June 15 broadcast breached its guidelines, which prohibit BBC journalists from labeling groups as “terrorist” and instead require them to attribute such designations to others. The broadcaster justified its stance in the name of “due accuracy and impartiality.”

The policy is indefensible. Hamas is not a matter of debate or interpretation — it is on Britain’s official list of proscribed terrorist organizations, responsible for decades of suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and the October 7, 2023 cross-border massacre in Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to the abduction of 251 hostages.

“This is not impartiality, it’s distortion,” one media watchdog said. “The BBC is hiding behind semantics to avoid stating plain facts.”

The ruling directly contradicts the position of Britain’s own government. In Jerusalem just days after the October 7 massacre, Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged the BBC to correct its policy, calling Hamas “one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world.” Standing alongside him, then–Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was unequivocal: “We should call it what it is — an act of terrorism perpetrated by an evil terrorist organization, Hamas.”

Yet the BBC has refused to budge, even as it acknowledges that its presenter’s remarks have been “reported to senior management and discussed with the editorial team.”

This is only the latest scandal to engulf the broadcaster. Earlier this month, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) accused BBC Arabic of being “sloppy, reckless” and lacking basic judgment after it platformed Palestinian journalist Samer Elzaenen — despite his history of praising Adolf Hitler and glorifying the killing of Jews.

In a July segment, Elzaenen was presented as a credible eyewitness from Gaza, where he accused Israel of pursuing a “starvation” policy aimed at “genocide and takeover.” After backlash, the BBC admitted it “should not have used” him as a source.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)