BBC ‘manipulated by terrorists’ over Gaza documentary says former director

London’s Metropolitan (MET) police are examining complaints about a BBC documentary featuring the son of a Hamas government minister, following an official apology by the public-funded broadcaster last week.

The BBC first pulled the documentary from iPlayer, then admitted to “serious flaws,” following an investigative report by independent journalist David Collier.

“The BBC must ask itself how and why it has allowed Hamas to become a trustworthy source of information for newsgathering and reporting,” Danny Cohen, who ran BBC TV from 2013 to 2015, told The Times newspaper.

“It is a terrorist group committed to genocidal destruction… The BBC has allowed itself to be manipulated by terrorists.”

Cohen’s comments come as the corporation faces a possible police probe into the payment for the services of the teenage narrator of the hour-long film, as well as strong words from Lisa Nandy, the UK government minister for culture, media and sport.

“We’re aware of a BBC documentary about Gaza and we have received a number of reports raising concerns,” a MET police spokesperson said.

“Officers from the MET's Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter.”

The BBC has admitted that a “limited sum of money” was transferred by the production company, Hoyo Films, to the mother of Abdullah, the 13-year-old presenter and son of Ayman Al Yazouri, a senior Hamas government minister. The payment was reportedly made via the boy’s sister.

The Telegraph reported on Friday that Ayman's sister, Safia Al Yazouri, believed to be the daughter of the Hamas minister, praised the Oct. 7 massacre on social media.

In the statement, a BBC spokesperson acknowledged "unacceptable" flaws by both the production company and the BBC, stating that the broadcaster “takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the corporation’s reputation.”

The BBC also stated that “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.”

Although the corporation claimed the connections were never disclosed by Hoya, the BBC conceded: “It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”

Potentially the most worrying aspect of the documentary is in the editing. It was reported last week that the Arabic language in the film was censored, with the words ‘Jews’ and ‘Jihad’ translated incorrectly as ‘Israelis’ and ‘resisting Israeli forces.’

On Saturday, The Daily Mail reported that the BBC is under growing pressure to sack the senior staff involved in the oversight of the Gaza documentary.

Former Labour MP Lord Austin, who now sits as an Independent peer in the House of Lords, said: “Surely those who oversaw the making of this programme should be sacked for the very serious professional and moral failings.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) wrote in a post on 𝕏: “The BBC’s statement is an exercise in desperate damage control, and shows why an internal review is no substitute for an independent investigation into this documentary and the wider bias at the BBC that allowed it to be made and aired. Clearly those responsible must lose their jobs.”

The CAA has launched a petition calling on Nandy to suspend the BBC’s UK tax-payers’ licence fee, “pending an independent investigation into the BBC.”