The ABC’s managing director, Mark Scott, ordered the flagship current affairs radio program PM not to broadcast an interview the show had recorded with the former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah after his appearance on Q&A.
The interview, by senior reporter Peter Lloyd, was due to be broadcast nationally on Mark Colvin’s PM program on Tuesday evening.
But sources said a directive came down from news management that Scott, in his role as editor-in-chief of the ABC, had forbidden the airing of the interview. It was dropped from the lineup.
The ABC denied there was a directive from management. “There is no ‘blanket ban’ on Zaky Mallah”, a spokesperson said in a statement.
“PM interviewed Zaky Mallah for its Tuesday report on the political response to Monday night’s Q&A program. Information from the interview was used but specific quotes were not broadcast as they were not relevant to the report. There was no directive from management, it was entirely an editorial decision.”
Later Scott tweeted: “Completely untrue … I was unaware of any story or interview and offered no instructions.”
Mallah’s appearance in the Q&A audience the night before had sparked debate about who should be allowed to appear on the program and had angered the government. Tony Abbott was furious with the ABC for giving a platform to Mallah, whom he described as a “terrorist sympathiser”.
Mallah said, in reference to Coalition minister Steve Ciobo, who was on the panel: “The Liberals have just justified to many Australian Muslims in the community tonight to leave and go to Syria and join Isil because of ministers like him.”
Q&A’s host, Tony Jones, apologised and ruled the comment “totally out of order”.
Writing for Guardian Australia on Tuesday, Mallah denied he was a threat, and said he was “on good terms” with Asio now.
Less than 12 hours after Q&A had finished the ABC’s head of television, Richard Finlayson – who is directly responsible for the program – issued an apology and ordered a review of its procedures.
It later emerged that the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had complained to Scott and Jones about the show.
The decision to invite Mallah to ask a question was made by the program’s executive producer, Peter McEvoy, without the knowledge of Scott or Finlayson, which is not unusual.
But the intervention by a managing director in an editorial decision is a highly unusual event at the public broadcaster, which generally gives its program-makers autonomy.
ABC sources told Guardian Australia there was widespread concern that the “firewall” between the government, which funds the ABC, and the independent arm of the ABC News division was breaking down.
Some ABC journalists believe Scott “caved in” too soon in order to comply with the government’s complaints, pre-empting established internal processes to review editorial decisions.
Lloyd’s report on PM, “Zaky Mallah Q&A appearance prompts inquiry”, included audio of Turnbull and Abbott and an interview with the media academic Fiona Martin, but not with Mallah himself, and had to be cut from five minutes to three.
“They’ve given this disgraceful individual a platform and in so doing I believe the national broadcaster has badly let us down,” Abbott said on Tuesday.
“I think many millions of Australians would feel betrayed by our national broadcaster right now. I do think the ABC needs to have a long hard look at itself, and answer a question I’ve posed before: whose side are you on?
“Fair enough, we all believe in free speech, but in the end, you all have to make judgments.”
Mallah, who in 2005 was acquitted of two terrorism offences but pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Asio officials, has been a regular guest on other media programs, including The Project on Channel 10, and Insight on SBS.
He featured heavily in a 2015 Radio National Background Briefing documentary about deradicalisation programs.
On Tuesday evening he appeared again on The Project, and repeated his warnings against young people going to Syria and Iraq to join the conflict.
“I’ve been on your program before and I’ve made it very clear that anyone who wants to go and travel to Syria or to Iraq to join Isis – don’t go,” Mallah said.
“It’s an organisation that has hijacked Islam. It’s an organisation that has hijacked the jihad. I don’t support Isis and I don’t support anyone leaving Australia and their families to head overseas and join this group.”
To the chagrin of some Muslim activists, who claim he is an unrepresentative and fringe figure, Mallah is often quoted in News Corp and Fairfax Media mastheads, and prolifically posts video blogs on YouTube.
He returned from a visit to Syria in the early days of the country’s civil war and has emerged as a critic of Islamic State, though he has expressed support for the al-Qaida linked Jabhat al-Nusra militia.
In a column in the Australian on Wednesday, ABC critic Chris Kenny attacked the broadcaster’s journalists for not condemning Q&A.
“If the ABC is really an independent and pluralistic broadcaster – as it is required to be by law – why haven’t we heard ABC journalists condemning Q&A and arguing that their organisation does need to lift its game?
“Why do they all, en masse, defend what large sections of the public believe was indefensible?”
An ABC spokesman said on Wednesday afternoon: “Reports published in the Guardian Australia and Fairfax make a false claim that the managing director of the ABC Mark Scott ordered its current affairs radio program PM not to broadcast an interview with the former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah after his appearance on Q&A.
“This is not correct, as the Guardian was informed prior to publication. No such directive was issued. The ABC has contacted both publications for retraction.”
