An internal memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, alleges that BBC Arabic gave disproportionate weight to unverified anti‑Israel claims during the Gaza war. The BBC says it takes such feedback seriously, as MPs demand answers on editorial standards.
A 19‑page memorandum sent to BBC leaders by Michael Prescott, who served until June as an external adviser to the corporation’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, accuses BBC Arabic of systemic bias during its Gaza war coverage, including rushing allegations against Israel to air without adequate checks and giving “unjustifiable weight” to militant claims. The memo’s existence and core allegations were first reported by the Telegraph and subsequently summarized by other outlets; Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee has asked the BBC chair for the full report. The BBC said it does not comment on leaked documents but is reviewing feedback. (committees.parliament.uk)
One case highlighted in the memo concerns the July 27, 2024 rocket strike on a soccer field in Majdal Shams that killed 12 children and wounded dozens. Israeli and U.S. officials blamed Hezbollah, which denied responsibility. The memo alleges BBC Arabic omitted key details about the child victims and later amplified suggestions the attack was staged—treatment said to differ from English‑language output. Reuters and other outlets documented the deaths; the allegation about BBC Arabic’s framing comes from the whistleblower memo as reported by UK media. (reuters.com)
The memo also criticizes BBC Arabic’s repeated use of freelance contributors with histories of inflammatory anti‑Jewish rhetoric. Separate reporting this year showed Gaza‑based freelancer Samer Elzaenen had posted, “We shall burn you as Hitler did,” among other statements; and Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alagha described Jews as “devils” and Israelis as “not human beings.” After press coverage, the BBC said Alagha would no longer be used as a contributor. These claims are drawn from reporting by the Jewish Chronicle and other outlets; they do not indicate the two were BBC staff. (thejc.com)
On casualty figures, the memo faults output that leaned on Gaza Health Ministry death tallies without sufficient caveats, even after a May 2024 U.N. update revised the identified proportions of women and children among the dead. The U.N. later clarified that totals remained high but that the breakdown changed as identifications progressed. (npr.org)
The memo further points to reporting about alleged mass graves at Gaza hospitals. In April 2024, Palestinian authorities said hundreds of bodies were found at Nasser and al‑Shifa after Israeli withdrawals and accused Israeli forces of burying victims. Israel rejected that, saying troops briefly exhumed some bodies during searches for hostages and reburied them; open‑source analysis and past footage documented Palestinians digging graves at hospital grounds during fighting. U.N. officials called for an independent investigation. These facts remain disputed; the memo argues BBC Arabic conveyed the burial claims with insufficient verification. (reuters.com)
A separate controversy involved a BBC radio interview in May 2025 in which a U.N. official wrongly suggested that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die within 48 hours without aid. The BBC later clarified that the cited IPC analysis referred to an estimated 14,100 severe acute malnutrition cases among children under five over a year, not imminent deaths. (nypost.com)
The memo also criticizes coverage that described an International Court of Justice ruling as finding Israel “plausibly” committing genocide. In an April 2024 BBC interview, then‑ICJ president Joan Donoghue clarified that the court found Palestinians had “plausible rights to protection” under the Genocide Convention and ordered provisional measures—it did not rule on the plausibility of the genocide allegation itself. The BBC later published an explainer reflecting that clarification. (feeds.bbci.co.uk)
Separately, the BBC has faced censure over a BBC Two documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. After an internal review found a breach of accuracy guidelines for failing to disclose that the child narrator’s father was a Hamas official, Ofcom ruled in October 2025 that the film was “materially misleading” and ordered a broadcast statement; the BBC removed the film from iPlayer. (reuters.com)
The corporation is also under fire over alleged selective editing in a 2024 Panorama episode about Donald Trump. Newsweek and the Guardian reported claims—drawn from the same Prescott dossier—that the program spliced two parts of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech, implying a direct incitement; the BBC said it takes feedback seriously but declined to comment on leaked materials. (newsweek.com)
Political pressure has grown around the memo. On November 4, 2025, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee wrote to BBC chair Samir Shah seeking the full report and details of any actions taken. Downing Street said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had received a copy. Appearing before MPs previously, BBC Director‑General Tim Davie and news executive Jonathan Munro defended the World Service and said they did not recognize depictions of systemic bias at BBC Arabic. (committees.parliament.uk)
The BBC has said BBC News Arabic is expected to meet the same standards as the rest of the organization and that it addresses breaches when they arise. The corporation said it is considering the concerns raised in the memo.
