Protesters tell the BBC: “We refuse to fund terrorists with our licence fee!”
This evening, protesters gathered at Broadcasting House to tell the BBC: “We refuse to fund terrorists with our licence fee!”
The protest was organised by Campaign Against Antisemitism, following the BBC’s admission of ‘serious flaws’ relating to the so-called documentary, ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,’ and confirmation that licence fee payers’ money was handed to the family of a senior Hamas official.
The crowd was addressed by Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, who said: “A national treasure has become a national embarrassment.”
Broadcaster and comedian Josh Howie told demonstrators: “We have no choice. We are all compelled to be here—compelled by decades of racism, compelled by the distortions, the omissions and the outright lies—all in service of creating a warped biased hateful narrative that has been directed at our community by the BBC. And just as much, we are also compelled to be here by the decades of inaction, dismissal and denial by the BBC of that racism.”
At last week’s protest, he announced on stage that he will no longer pay the BBC licence fee.
We then heard from actress and columnist Dame Maureen Lipman, who asked: “Where is the balance?”
She continued: “As always, all I ask for is a level playing field.”
Natalie Sanandaji, who survived the Nova music festival massacre on 7th October, where a reported 364 people were murdered by Hamas terrorists, told the crowd: “This is not just a case of poor judgment. This is an active betrayal of the trust that the public has in institutions like the BBC. The BBC is supposed to be a respected, reliable source of news for the British public. The BBC is supposed to uphold standards of fairness and responsibility. And yet here they are, amplifying the voices of those connected to the very people who are responsible for the deaths of our friends, our families, our communities.”
We then heard from Mark Birbeck, founder of Our Fight UK, who said: “There are a lot of people like me that feel that first and foremost, journalism should be about truth and transparency.”
The protest came following another protest at the Broadcasting House last week, also organised by Campaign Against Antisemitism, where protesters demanded that the broadcaster stop whitewashing terrorism.
On Tuesday, BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC Chair Dr Samir Shah spoke at a Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing, where Mr Davie insisted that the BBC is the “most trusted brand in the world”.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The BBC has allowed licence fee money to go to the family of a Hamas terrorist in the production of what was essentially a Hamas propaganda film. The majority of the British public now backs our call for an independent investigation.
“The BBC is trying to pretend that it is business as usual while hoping to get away with an internal report, but the British public is having none of it and does not want the BBC to mark its own homework. That is why we want the licence fee to be suspended pending an independent investigation into this scandal and the wider issue of the BBC’s glaring bias.
“It is unconscionable to force people to pay a licence fee that pays for biased reporting and has now even been handed to the family of a terrorist.”
