THE BBC came under renewed pressure from the public and MPs yesterday to broadcast an emergency appeal for Gaza on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) after it received more than 10,000 complaints about its refusal to show the film.
More than 50 MPs will back a motion in the Commons today urging the BBC to reverse its decision. Douglas Alexander, Britain’s international development secretary; Ben Bradshaw, the health minister; and Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, all criticised the BBC.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said the BBC should broadcast the appeal by DEC, a group of humanitarian charities including Oxfam, Save the Children and the Red Cross.
The appeal will be shown tonight on ITV, Channel 4 and Five. But the BBC is arguing that by screening the appeal the corporation “could be interpreted as taking a political stance”.
DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley assured senior BBC executives that the money raised was “for all those affected by the recent conflict”, including people in southern Israel. But the BBC said that, with Israel unlikely to need help, “in practice the request was solely for Gaza”.
Mark Thompson, the BBC’s director general, said in a blog over the weekend that the “fundamental reason” the BBC refused to broadcast the appeal was to preserve its perceived impartiality.
A DEC spokesman said yesterday that DEC members “are working in Gaza and Israel, and the Red Cross movement have helped to evacuate people living in southern Israel”.
ITV was producing the two-minute appeal last night, which will be shown on the channel at about 6.25pm tonight. The film will be disseminated to other broadcasters and websites, including Channel 4 and Five.
About 50 protesters last night staged a peaceful demonstration at BBC Scotland's headquarters in Glasgow. – ( Guardianservice)