BBC criticised after shelving documentary on Gaza doctors
The documentary titled Gaza: Medics Under Fire was reportedly ready to be broadcast in February but has been shelved following the controversy around How to Survive a Warzone, which featured the son of a Hamas official.
The production firm behind the documentary on Gaza doctors, Basement Films, said the BBC has postponed airing their film until after a review into How to Survive a Warzone is completed.
A number of NHS doctors are reportedly writing to the BBC to air their frustrations over its decision to delay the screening of the film after they helped to introduce the documentary team to their counterparts in Gaza.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer delivers weak statement on Israel's ethnic cleansing plan
Historian William Dalrymple also criticised the broadcaster's decision as he said the broadcaster is 'wrecking its reputation' over its failure to hold the Israeli Government to account.
He wrote on social media: 'The BBC really needs to get a spine.
'It is wrecking its reputation with its systematic censorship of the news out of Gaza and its failure to hold Netanyahu's government to account for War Crimes- a description it is too cowardly to use.'
(Image: PA)
The independent documentary production company Basement Films said it was 'deeply disappointed' that its film had not yet been aired yet, amid suggestions that the BBC had reversed an original plan to press ahead with the screening.
'There is no moral or professional reason why a mistake in one film should repeatedly prevent the release of another film,' the company said.
In a statement, they added: 'We gathered searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and health workers who had survived attacks on hospitals and their homes that killed both colleagues and loved ones.
'We also spoke to multiple medics who had been detained and testified they had been tortured, and we made solemn undertakings that their stories would be told and done so as soon as possible.
'The film has been made by an experienced and multi award winning team both from Basement Films, and the BBC. It has been fact checked, compiled on and signed off multiple times within the BBC, as well as experts we consulted with.'
One BBC staff member said the reaction around How to Survive a Warzone had left bosses at the corporation 'terrified' of airing any further documentaries about Gaza, The Times has reported.
(Image: BBC)
The BBC said that it would show the film 'as soon as possible' after its review into 'How to Survive a Warzone' had concluded. However, it is unclear when that will be.
According to The Times, sources close to the situation indicated that the review had become mired in a legal delay after Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints, finished interviewing key people at the BBC and Hoyo Films, the production company behind How to Survive a Warzone.
The findings of the review are not expected to affect Basement's film which has reportedly been signed off by the corporation's lawyers.
Gaza: Medics Under Fire has been made by a team of Bafta and Emmy award-winning producers with Basement Films, headed by former editor of Channel 4 News Ben de Pear.
The BBC said the film remained an important piece of journalism. 'We are committed to journalism which tells our audiences the stories of this war, including what is happening in Gaza. This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible,' a spokesman said.
'We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.'
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