A leaked internal document from a former BBC standards adviser has exposed alleged systemic editorial failures spanning multiple topics, intensifying pressure that led to the resignations of the broadcaster’s top executives over the weekend.
The 19-page memo by Michael Prescott, who served as an independent adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee until June, detailed what he called “serious and systemic” editorial problems beyond the Trump speech controversy that dominated headlines. While the edited Trump documentary triggered the crisis, Prescott’s dossier revealed deeper concerns about BBC Arabic’s Gaza coverage, transgender reporting, and poorly researched stories on racism.
BBC Arabic Under Fire for Gaza Coverage
The memo’s most detailed critique targeted BBC Arabic’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, alleging the service “chose to minimize Israeli suffering” to “paint Israel as the aggressor”. According to the document, BBC’s main English-language website published 19 separate stories about Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, while BBC Arabic published none. Conversely, every article critical of Israel on the BBC News website also appeared on BBC Arabic, though with notably different tone and emphasis.
The memo highlighted specific incidents, including BBC Arabic’s coverage of Hezbollah’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams that killed 12 children. While the English version included Hezbollah’s denial of responsibility, BBC Arabic emphasized the denial and omitted mention of the child casualties entirely. The following day, BBC Arabic published a report alleging Israel had fabricated the attack.
Prescott also criticized the broadcaster for giving “unjustifiable weight” to Hamas casualty figures and falsely implying the International Court of Justice had found a “plausible case of genocide” in Gaza.
Transgender Coverage and Internal Censorship Claims
The memo alleged that a small group of staff within BBC’s LGBTQ desk exercised “effective censorship” over coverage of gender-identity issues. Prescott claimed the desk declined to cover stories “raising difficult questions about the trans-debate,” even when extensively reported by outlets including The Times, The Economist, and The Washington Post.
Examples included the BBC’s failure to cover leaked internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and legal disputes over women’s changing rooms and prisons. The memo also noted that the case of transgender murderer Scarlet Blake was initially misreported, with Blake described simply as a woman before the wording was changed.
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