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Telegraph
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Revealed: How much Hamas official's family was paid for BBC Gaza documentary
The family of a Hamas minister was paid £790 for his teenage son's role in the BBC's Gaza documentary. The money was paid into a bank account belonging to the sister of Abdullah al-Yazouri, a 13-year-old boy who narrated Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Their father, Ayman al-Yazouri, is the deputy agriculture minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government. The documentary has been pulled from iPlayer after the BBC acknowledged 'serious flaws' in its production, including its failure to disclose Abdullah's links to Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. The money was paid by an independent production company Hoyo Films, which made the documentary under contract for the BBC. No payment went from the BBC directly to Abdullah's family. The existence of the payment was disclosed in a statement made by the BBC last week, in which the corporation admitted its 'own failing' in not uncovering the boy's family connection to Hamas prior to transmission. The BBC said: '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.' The amount has never been disclosed until now. The Telegraph has learnt that the sum was in the region of £790 – equivalent to about a month's salary in Gaza. The BBC has demanded a 'full audit of expenditure' in the making of the programme by Hoyo. The company has told the BBC that 'no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift'. The size of the payment to Abdullah's family has reassured senior executives inside the BBC that the money represents an insubstantial sum, in the face of demands by campaigners for counter-terrorism police to open an investigation. The Telegraph disclosed earlier this week that Scotland Yard had been asked to begin an inquiry. The BBC has admitted that it wrote a 'number of times' to Hoyo asking if Abdullah was connected to Hamas. In an official complaint to the police, UK Lawyers for Israel cited this as possible evidence that the BBC had enough concerns to have warranted contacting the police. Under terrorism legislation, an organisation has a duty to report to police any concerns that a terrorist offence is being committed. The BBC has insisted that it is aware of 'our legal obligations' and complies with them. 'Number of reports' The Metropolitan Police said it had received 'a number of reports raising concerns' about the Gaza documentary. It said it was 'currently assessing whether any police action is required'. Police have stressed that no investigation has yet been launched and the scale of the payment to Abdullah's family, at under £800, makes that highly unlikely, unless the BBC audit finds other payments of concern. It has been reported that the BBC paid Hoyo £400,000 out of licence payers' funds to make the documentary, which took nine months to complete. Hoyo has said it is 'co-operating fully' with the BBC's internal investigation to 'understand where mistakes have been made'. The film-makers added: '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.' Sources inside the BBC have pointed out that Israel's refusal to allow Western journalists to report on the ground from inside Gaza had contributed to the confusion and difficulties that have arisen from the Gaza documentary. The connection between Abdullah and his father's role within the Hamas government was uncovered by David Collier, an investigative journalist, within hours of the programme being broadcast. It raises serious questions over the failure of the BBC's own due diligence.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC review finds 'serious flaws' over Gaza documentary
The BBC has apologised and admitted "serious flaws" in the making of a documentary about children's lives in Gaza. The documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, was pulled from iPlayer last week after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. It said it has "no plans to broadcast the programme again in its current form or return it to iPlayer". Hoyo Films, the production company that made the documentary for the BBC, said it felt it was "important to hear from voices that haven't been represented onscreen throughout the war with dignity and respect". The company added it was "cooperating fully" with the BBC to "help understand where mistakes have been made". The BBC removed the documentary after concerns were raised that it centred on a boy called Abdullah who is the son of Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK and others. It also launched a review into the film, and the BBC's Board met earlier on Thursday to discuss it. In the statement, a BBC spokesperson said both the production company and the BBC had made "unacceptable" flaws and that it "takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the corporation's reputation". It added the BBC had not been informed of the teenager's family connection in advance by the film's production company. The spokesperson says: "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. "It was then the BBC's own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired." Hoyo Films have told the corporation that they paid the young boy's mother "a limited sum of money" for narrating the film via his sister's bank account, the BBC statement added. It said Hoyo assured the BBC that no payments were made to any members of Hamas or its affiliates "either directly, in kind or as a gift", and that it is seeking "additional assurance" around the programme's budget. In its statement, Hoyo added: "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". A full audit of the expenditure on the film will be undertaken by the BBC, and it will be asking for the relevant financial accounts of Hoyo Films so this can be carried out. The BBC spokesperson said the incident had "damaged" the trust in the Corporation's journalism - and "the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations". They added the director-general of the BBC had asked for complaints "to be expedited to the Editorial Complaints Unit, which is separate from BBC News". A separate statement from the BBC Board added: "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." Earlier this week, the BBC was criticised for pulling the programme by more than 500 media figures, including Gary Lineker, Anita Rani and Riz Ahmed. BBC pulls Gaza film as it carries out checks over Hamas links BBC criticised by 500 media figures for pulling Gaza documentary
