BBC pulls controversial Gaza documentary from iPlayer in apology for ‘serious flaws' amid Hamas questions

Independent

28-02-2025

The BBC has apologised for 'serious flaws' in the making of the programme Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, and added it has no plans to broadcast the documentary again or return it to iPlayer.
The corporation removed the documentary after it emerged that the child narrator is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture.
The broadcaster, which has now conducted an initial review of the programme, said independent production company Hoyo Films, who made the documentary, told them the boy's mother had been paid 'a limited sum of money for the narration'.
This comes after concerns from shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew that public funds had 'indirectly supported a terrorist organisation'.
After the discovery about Abdullah Al-Yazouri, who speaks about life in the territory amid the war between Israel and Hamas, the BBC added a disclaimer to the programme and later removed it from its online catch-up service.
A BBC spokesperson said its review 'has identified serious flaws in the making of this programme'.
They added: 'Some of these were made by the production company and some by the BBC; all of them are unacceptable. BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the corporation's reputation. We apologise for this.
'Nothing is more important than the trust that our audiences have in our journalism.
'This incident has damaged that trust. While the intent of the documentary was aligned with our purpose – to tell the story of what is happening around the world, even in the most difficult and dangerous places – the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations.
'Although the programme was made by an independent production company, who were commissioned to deliver a fully compliant documentary, the BBC has ultimate editorial responsibility for this programme as broadcast.'
The spokesperson said one of the core questions was around 'the family connections of the young boy who is the narrator of the film' and added that the 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,' the spokesperson said.
'It was then the BBC's own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.
'Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy's mother, via his sister's bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration.
'While Hoyo Films have assured us that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift, the BBC is seeking additional assurance around the budget of the programme and will undertake a full audit of expenditure.
'We are requesting the relevant financial accounts of the production company in order to do that.'
Hoyo Films said in a statement: 'We are co-operating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston (director of editorial complaints and reviews) to help understand where mistakes have been made.
'We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.'
In another statement, the BBC's board said mistakes made in producing the documentary were 'significant and damaging to the BBC'.
The statement said: 'The subject matter of the documentary was clearly a legitimate area to explore, but nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism.
'While the board appreciates that mistakes can be made, the mistakes here are significant and damaging to the BBC.
'The board has required the Executive to report back at the earliest opportunity on the outcomes of the work the director-general has commissioned.'
Former BBC One controller Danny Cohen, who was among those wanting the BBC to pull the programme, said: 'The BBC has now acknowledged the very serious journalistic failings of this documentary and the damage it has caused to the BBC's reputation.'
He added: 'The BBC must allow a full independent inquiry to investigate the processes that led to this documentary being produced.'
On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside Broadcasting House in London claiming the BBC had aired Hamas propaganda.
The BBC also faced criticism in pulling the documentary, with Gary Lineker, Anita Rani, Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margolyes among the more than 500 media figures who had condemned the action.
In an open letter addressed to the BBC's director-general Tim Davie, chairman Samir Shah and chief content officer Charlotte Moore, hundreds of TV and film professionals and journalists called the decision to remove the documentary 'politically motivated censorship'.
Earlier in the week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she had met the BBC director-general at her request 'in order to seek urgent answers about the checks and due diligence that should have been carried out ahead of the screening of a recent documentary into Gaza, about the commissioning, the payments, and the use of licence fee payers' money.'