A BBC journalist was left fuming as the corporation was found to have ignored the scandal of British spy planes being deployed over Gaza.
The National, in conjunction with the investigative website Declassified UK, this week published an expose of the failure of the mainstream media to look into RAF planes being deployed over the besieged territory.
The investigation revealed that despite being aware of the phenomenon, broadcasters such as the BBC have displayed a remarkable lack of curiosity about the spy planes.
Outlets have simply parroted the official line that the flights are for the purposes of tracking down Israeli hostages captured by Hamas.
Concerns have been raised frequently that the flights may also be used to support Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people – or that defence chiefs have gathered evidence on this but have turned a blind eye.
Responding to the story’s author Des Freedman, the BBC’s defence correspondent Jonathan Beale got his hackles up.
He said: “Please tell us Des as to how we can get the classified intelligence only you seem to know about. Why teach media studies when you can clearly scoop us all?”
One user pointed out that in October last year, Beale himself had noted that the reconnaissance flights “must have witnessed so much more”, adding: “Why don't you do some actual journalism rather than stenography?”
John McEvoy, Declassified UK’s chief reporter said: “You can quite easily see the RAF's spy flights over Gaza on flight tracking sites including radarbox and flightradar.
“Did you not know this, Jonathan? You're the BBC's defence correspondent!”
