AN aide to Lisa Nandy drafted a memo for the Culture Secretary saying that the BBC is “institutionally antisemitic”, The National has learnt.
Nandy is due to meet with Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely at an unconfirmed date and was advised by a policy officer to make the claim against the BBC.
But a source at the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport told The National that this was dropped and the Culture Secretary would not brand the BBC “antisemitic” at her meeting with the ambassador.
They said: “It was an initial draft.”
It comes after independent journalist Matt Kennard revealed that briefing notes for the meeting had also advised the Culture Secretary to tell Hotovely that “one mistake is an editing error but if you have multiple mistakes you need to look at the leadership”.
The BBC found itself under fire from the upper echelons of the UK Government after broadcasting punk band Bob Vylan (below) leading at chant at Glastonbury which called for “death to the [Israeli Defence Forces]”.
Kennard also reported that Nandy was also advised to tell the Israeli ambassador that “Glastonbury continues to host acts with vile and inflammatory views” and more investigation was needed.
The Bob Vylan chant was denounced as “antisemitic” by Nandy, who last week told MPs: “There is a clear difference between speaking out for Palestine, which is the right of everybody in this house and everybody in our country, and antisemitism, which is not and never will be.
“When the rights and safety of people and communities are at risk and when our national broadcaster fails to uphold its own standards, we will intervene.”
She has discussed the matter with BBC director-general Tim Davie and demanded an explanation as to why the segment was broadcast.
Nandy said last week: “When you have one editorial failure, it's something that must be gripped. When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership.”
Bob Vylan's comments were reported to the police, with Avon and Somerset Police confirming footage would be "assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed".
The band had their US visas revoked ahead of a tour of the country and the BBC later announced it would no longer broadcast "high risk" live performances.
