THE BBC breached editorial guidelines on accuracy by failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary about Gaza was the son of a Hamas official.
An independent review commissioned by the corporation found that Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone breached editorial guideline 3.3.17 on accuracy by failing to disclose to audiences the “critical information” of the role the 13-year-old’s father had within the Hamas-run government, the BBC said.
The corporation said the report found nobody at the BBC knew of the father’s position when the documentary first aired on February 17, but three people at Hoyo Films, the independent production company which produced the film, were aware.
It added that the report does not find that the production company misled the corporation, but does find that the firm bears most of the responsibility for the failure.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie apologised for a “significant failing” in relation to the documentary and pledged the corporation would take action to prevent it happening again.
He said: “Peter Johnston’s report identifies a significant failing in relation to accuracy in this documentary. I thank him for his thorough work and I am sorry for this failing.
“We will now take action on two fronts – fair, clear and appropriate actions to ensure proper accountability and the immediate implementation of steps to prevent such errors being repeated.”
The independent production company behind the Gaza documentary that featured the son of a Hamas official has apologised and said it is working with the BBC to see if the film can be made available on the iPlayer again.
Speaking on BBC's Radio 4 World At One programme, Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News said: “Our current affairs teams, day in, day out, week in, week out, are creating and pushing out incredibly controversial, difficult, complex documentaries.
"We have really good, best in class systems in place, but in this we failed, and we must put in place new processes which will enable us to continue with our courageous journalism with confidence.”
The BBC came under fire for removing the documentary from iPlayer completely after the revelation.
Narrator Abdullah told Middle East Eye he had hoped that the documentary could “spread the message of the suffering that children in Gaza witness”.
He said he holds the corporation responsible for his fate.
“It was pretty disappointing and sad to see this backlash against me and my family, and this harassment," he said.
“Some anonymous people, let’s say, had tried to hide the true suffering of Gaza’s children by attacking me and my family."
The young boy stressed that he feared for his safety and spoke out about the “mental pressure” he was under – adding that he held the BBC responsible.
Ex-BBC journalist Karishma Patel accused the BBC of a “shocking abdication of responsibility”, saying its rules on child safeguarding had “fallen by the wayside”.
The BBC also axed another documentary film while the review into How to Survive a Warzone was being carried out.
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack explored the destruction of the health service in Gaza under Israel's brutal bombardment, but it was pulled by the BBC because of "impartiality" concerns.
It ended up being broadcast on Channel 4, despite having been commissioned by the BBC.
A statement from Hoyo Films said: “We take the findings in Peter Johnston’s report on Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone extremely seriously and apologise for the mistake that resulted in a breach of the (BBC) editorial guidelines.
“We are pleased that the report found that there was no evidence of inappropriate influence on the content of the documentary from any third party.
“We appreciate the rigorous nature of this investigation, and its findings that Hoyo Films did not intentionally mislead the BBC, that there were no other breaches of the editorial guidelines in the programme, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the programme funds were spent other than for reasonable, production-related purposes.
“Hoyo Films welcomes the report’s recommendations and hope they will improve processes and prevent similar problems in the future.
“We are working closely with the BBC to see if we can find an appropriate way to bring back to iPlayer the stories of those featured in the programme.
“Our team in Gaza risked their lives to document the devastating impact of war on children.
“Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone remains a vital account, and our contributors, who have no say in the conflict, deserve to have their voices heard.”
